Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder tried to move the ball towards the Milwaukee Bucks within the second half of a basketball match of the NBA on Sunday March 16, 2025 in Milwaukee. (AP photograph / Jeffrey Phelps) Supply: Publish
Milwaukee (AP) – Doc Rivers says he noticed the potential of the celebrities at Shai Gilgeous -Aalexander whereas dragging him as a recruit earlier than the Los Angeles clippers translate him to Oklahoma Metropolis.
However the veteran coach concedes that Gilgeous-Alexander radically surpassed these expectations.
“I don’t suppose that anybody on this planet has seen this in him,” mentioned Rivers, who led the clippers from 2013 to twenty. “We thought he was going to be actually, actually good. I believed he was going to be a star. I mentioned it after we exchanged it. However to see this, I do not suppose anybody can actually say that he knew he was going to be as particular. »»
Rivers spoke earlier than her Milwaukee Bucks misplaced 121-105 Sunday night, in Gilgeous-Alexander, the convention of the West.
The Clippers included Gilgeous-Alexander as a part of the package deal to carry All-Star Paul George 9 occasions to Los Angeles in the summertime of 2019. The acquisition of George helped the Clippers additionally win Kawhi Leonard in free company after he had simply run the Toronto Raptors in a title of the NBA.
On the time of commerce, Gilgeous-Alexander was launched from a recruited season throughout which he had a mean of 10.3 factors, 3.3 assists and a couple of.8 rebounds whereas beginning 73 video games. Triple All-Star has introduced its recreation to a different degree with Oklahoma Metropolis and is now thought of top-of-the-line candidates for the MVP value of this season with Nikola Jokic from Denver.
Gilgeous-Alexander, 26, is on common 33 factors on the prime of the NBA and has scored a minimum of 20 factors in 62 consecutive video games.
“I had his yr recruited, the one factor I appreciated at dwelling, the sport by no means went shortly for him,” mentioned Rivers. “He has at all times been capable of play at an excellent tempo, and now he improves.”
He continued to strengthen his MVP case this weekend by serving to the Thunder to win in Detroit and Milwaukee by consecutive nights.
Gilgeous-Alexander scored 48 factors in a 113-107 victory in Detroit. He confirmed the diversification of his offensive match on Sunday by scoring 31 factors regardless of the actual fact of 0 for five within the vary of three factors, the primary time since November 20 that he had made a whole match with out 3 factors.
“He simply has an enormous combination and located issues within the recreation circulate,” mentioned Thunder’s coach Mark Daignault. “He didn’t play, I believe, of his greatest offensive match tonight, however nonetheless had a really common hand.”
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