Why Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is positioned to win Rookie of the Year
By Justin Rowan
2. Physical tools
Plenty of players come into the league with NBA-level skills. The talent pool for the league continues to get deeper every season. However, to have your skills actually translate and shine through on the NBA level, you typically need outlier physical gifts.
Being drafted to fill a need for a team is nice, but it takes more than just talent to make it in the NBA. The further you go in the draft, the more question marks prospects typically have. For the LA Clippers to land someone with the physical tools of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander outside of the top 10 could end up looking like a steal in the future.
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While he isn’t an exceptional athlete, SGA makes up for it with his length and coordination. His ball-handling allows him to probe the opposing defense and keep them guessing. The use of long strides allows him to knife past defenders and the threat of him pulling up for a jumper keeps the defense honest.
The maturity Gilgeous-Alexander has for his age was one of the most obvious aspects of his game in NBA Summer League. His 10.5 percent turnover rate was the lowest among point guards selected in the first round. Collin Sexton (14.3), Trae Young (20.8), and Aaron Holiday (24.9) all turned the ball over more during their time in Las Vegas.
Obviously Summer League needs to be taken with several grains of salt, but seeing ball security translate to that level is an encouraging first step. Gilgeous-Alexander won’t be forced to do too much with all the surrounding ball-handlers, so his turnover rate should remain low as long as his decision-making is solid.
But the biggest X-factor when it comes to his immediate impact comes on the defensive end of the floor. Gilgeous-Alexander has the length to become a two-way threat at the next level. His seven-foot wingspan should help him defend multiple positions at the next level.
In addition to that, his steal and block rates are either as good or better than every other NBA guard to come out of Kentucky during John Calipari’s tenure with the team. Out of the alumni, John Wall’s steal percentage of 2.9 percent is the only guard that matches Gilgeous-Alexander. No guard managed to match the 1.7 percent block rate he posted during his lone season at Kentucky. As long as he can add some weight to his frame, there’s no reason he can’t be an impact defender like fellow alums Wall or Eric Bledsoe.