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Par Joël Pütz | Journaliste sportif
Regular season MVP and boss of a formidable Oklahoma City team, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander nonetheless remains a polarizing force among fans. Former point guard Jeff Teague, however, claims the guard has saved the NBA…
Hopes were high after 2023-24, with the Thunder having reached the conference finals before losing to the Mavericks. For this year, ambitions were therefore logically revised upwards… and the least we can say is that it wasn’t premature since Shai Gilgeous-Alexander & co. are now in the NBA Finals, after finishing the regular season with the best record in the league (69-14).
Ultra-dominant in the conference finals against Minnesota, Mark Daigneault’s men are the favorites against the Pacers. This is logical since they rely on the Canadian guard, who is none other than the new regular-season MVP and who has been more than solid in these playoffs (nearly 30 points, 6 rebounds, and 7 assists per game). This is a way for him to respond to the criticism leveled at him, and there are many.
Jeff Teague defends SGA against criticism of his game
Considered the league’s biggest free-throw merchant, the former Clipper is far from unanimous among fans. However, it’s a different story for his peers, especially those from the old school who identify with his style of play, which is heavily focused on mid-range shooting. Jeff Teague was frank on the subject:
He saved the NBA cuz the NBA is a copycat league and he perfected the mid-range game. He brought back the ability to be able to shoot mid-range shots. Because the game was either a three or a layup. I got crucified in Minnesota for wanting to shoot a mid-range shot if it wasn’t a three or a layup for analytics. And him being the MVP and his go-to shot is a mid-range shot?
He literally just saved the NBA, basketball because that’s a shot that if you can perfect it, you’re always gonna get a good shot. It’s always a good shot. Defenses are made for you to take that shot and he perfected it. And now it looks crazy. He made it acceptable again because even though his game is very smooth but he’s not the most entertaining person but if you watch basketball, you wonder how he’s so effective.
That used to be called the “guard layup”. Back when I came to the NBA, if you couldn’t shoot a mid-range shot, they didn’t play you.
Like others such as Kawhi Leonard and Kevin Durant, SGA hasn’t abandoned the mid-range shot, which many experts consider obsolete and insufficiently effective these days. It’s clear that it’s working for him.
