To say that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander enjoyed a breakout campaign during the 2022-23 season may be an understatement.
Over 68 games, SGA averaged a career-high 31.4 points per game, turning heads on a nightly basis en route to a First Team All-NBA selection. Count Patrick Beverley and D'Angelo Russell as two players that were blown away by Gilgeous-Alexander's play last season.
"Shai is the most underrated player in the league, bro," Russell said during a recent appearance on Beverley's "Pat Bev Podcast."
MORE: Raptors, Kings, Pistons and Thunder headline ninth NBA Canada Series
"I remember, you said it — like, he's got that Kobe s—," Russell continued, recalling a conversation that he had with Beverley, who played alongside a rookie Gilgeous-Alexander in Los Angeles. "Shai is the most underrated, hardest player to guard in the league, bro."
When asked what makes Gilgeous-Alexander such a tough player to cover, Russell was quick to provide a very specific example.
OKC does this thing off the free throw line where we shoot the free throw, Shai's at the free throw line and they put all the other guys in the corner. And it's a full-court one-on-one, guard Shai. They do it every game, all game and you still can't stop it — not half court, free throw line, bring it up, get to it — he's unguardable.
The conversation stemmed from Beverley and Russell's discussion on how high-IQ players understand the skill of drawing fouls to get to the free throw line. Gilgeous-Alexander, who ranked third in the NBA in free throw attempts and first in made free throws last year, went a perfect 18-for-18 from the line in his two head-to-head meetings with Russell last season.
MORE: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander headlines Canada's World Cup roster
On March 24, an injured Russell watched from the sideline as Gilgeous-Alexander went 8-for-9 from the charity stripe in a five-point loss to the Lakers. It was in that game that Gilgeous-Alexander scored on the exact play that Russell described, attacking Los Angeles' defense after a free throw from Anthony Davis.
As the video above illustrates, it did not matter that Los Angeles' defense was set up, Gilgeous-Alexander found a way to get what he wanted.
At just 25, Gilgeous-Alexander may very well be just scratching the surface of his potential as a scorer and all-around player in the NBA. That "underrated" label might not be appropriate anymore.
