BBNBA: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander propels Thunder to NBA Cup Finals

A Final Four in December? Heck yeah. The jury is still out on the Emirates NBA Cup, the in-season tournament implemented last year to spice up what can be a sleepy 82-game regular season. There are fun uniforms and exotic courts for fans, and cash prizes for players, but it still feels like the whole thing is a little bit forced. Still, I’m holding onto hope it catches on, and watching former Kentucky players, like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, dominate a basketball tournament’s Final Four certainly helps.

SGA filled up the stat sheet yet again with 32 points, eight rebounds, six assists, five steals, and a block, as the Oklahoma City Thunder brought the boom to the Atlanta Hawks, winning 111-96 in the NBA Cup Semifinals which took place in Las Vegas. Despite being a tournament game, these stats still count toward the regular season totals. It moves the Thunder to a Western Conference-best 20-5 record, putting them in a great position for the more traditional playoffs that will take place in a few months.

As if Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s traditional box score stats weren’t impressive enough, try this one out. SGA leads the NBA in plus/minus at +293. The gap between him and second place is 69, more than the gap between second and 16th (67). Say what you want about the relevance of the plus/minus category, but it is a good indicator of success over time, and Gilgeous-Alexander is pretty dang successful.

Reed Sheppard is so good, he made a hundred grand for not playing

Reed Sheppard did not play in the game but will receive $100,000 for their team making it to the NBA Cup Semifinals. Not a bad night in Vegas. He probably got his room comped too.

Still, it is frustrating to watch Sheppard fall out of the rotation in meaningful games. He is averaging 11.8 minutes per game this season but, aside from a few highlight plays, hasn’t found consistency on the NBA court yet. He is also shooting just 30.4 percent from 3, a stark decline from his one season at Kentucky last year.

The Rockets are good, young, and ultra-athletic so Sheppard’s early-season struggles might ultimately be a matter of team fit. I’m not worried about his long-term NBA success, but Sheppard’s career may require a slower build-up than what everyone expected.

Chris Livingston also did not play, but his Milwaukee Bucks defeated the Atlanta Hawks to advance to the NBA Cup Finals against the Thunder, which will take place on Wednesday at Tuesday at 8:30 on ABC.

BBNBA Statistics for 12/14/2024

Player	Score	PTS	FG (3PT)	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	P/M	MIN
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (OKC)	111-96 W vs. HOU	32	8-21 (2-6)	8	6	5	1	1	+16	38
Cason Wallace (OKC)	111-96 W vs. HOU	5	2-6 (1-4)	6	2	1	1	2	+8	32
Reed Sheppard (HOU)	96-111 L vs. OKC	DNP-CD
Chris Livingston (MIL)	110-102 W vs. ATL	DNP-CD

Tonight in the NBA

5:00 | Pelicans @ Pacers (Jackson: out)
6:00 | Celtics @ Wizards
6:00 | Knicks (Towns, Toppin) @ Magic
7:00 | Timberwolves (Randle, Dillingham) @ Spurs (Johnson)
8:00 | Trail Blazers (Sharpe) @ Suns (Booker, T. Washington)
8:30 | Mavericks (PJ Washington) @ Warriors
9:30 | Grizzlies @ Lakers (Davis, Vanderbilt: out)