OKC Thunder: 3 must-watch storylines this coming season

1. Does Shai Gilgeous-Alexander take the next step in the road to stardom?

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander took a massive leap forward from his rookie season to last season, showing flashes of brilliance and stardom in his future. After being named to the 2018-19 NBA All-Rookie Team with the Clippers, Gigleous-Alexander was traded to OKC  as a part of the package that sent Paul George to the LA Clippers.

And the 22-year old Canadian made a huge leap during his first year in a Thunder uniform, leading OKC in scoring with 19 points per game, an 8.2 point increase from his rookie season. Gilgeous-Alexander also doubled his rebounds per game, going from 2.8 boards per game in LA to 5.9 rebounds a night in OKC.

A large reason for Gilgeous-Alexander’s major step forward was because of Chris Paul, who took the young guard under his wings and served as his mentor all year. Playing alongside Paul this early in his career was the best gift Gilgeous-Alexander could have asked for and it really showed both on and off the court.

But now with Paul gone, it will be up to Gilgeous-Alexander to use what he learned from the future Hall of Famer and continue to add to his game and further develop. Gilgeous-Alexander will also have more pressure on him from this season moving forward, as he is now the face of the franchise so it will be interesting to see if he can live up to the high expectations placed on him.

While the Thunder will be near the bottom of the West, this year is extremely important for Gilgeous-Alexander and it will serve as a good indication of the Thunder’s future as a whole, as Presti looks to use OKC’s multitude of future draft picks to build around the young star in hopes of building a team that will contend for titles for years to come.