Game 1 produced a thriller with Tyrese Haliburton‘s shot with 0.3 seconds left on the clock deciding the result. Now, this game 2 already had a nice pace to it early as the two teams are trading buckets in the first quarter. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 38 points in Game 1, but it wasn’t enough to secure the win. However, what’s stopping him from creating more history?

SGA has reached 3,000 combined points between the regular season and postseason! He’s the 12th player in NBA History to do so. The list included Michael Jordan repeating the feat 1o times and Wilt Chamberlain 5 times. Amongst the active players, Luka Doncic, James Harden, and Kevin Durant are making the list. But the two players who arguably defined this generation with their s𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁s are not part of it. Yes, Stephen Curry and LeBron James are not part of it, shocking.

Here is the list in detail. 10x – Michael Jordan 5x – Wilt Chamberlain, 2023-24 – Luka Doncic, 2018-19 – James Harden, 2013-14 – Kevin Durant, 2005-06 – Kobe Bryant, 1999-00 – Shaquille O’Neal, 1974-75 – Bob McAdoo, 1971-72 – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, 1966-67 – Rick Barry and lastly, 1962-63 – Elgin Baylor. Definitely a season of highs for SGA to not feature on this list of legends of the game, but also due to his personal milestones he achieved during the season.

An All-Star nod with inclusions in the All-NBA first team. Plus, the MVP trophy win over Nikola Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo, also adding to it the West Finals MVP as the OKC reached the Finals. Let’s not forget the scoring title for putting on a clinic with 32.7 points per game during the regular season. In the first half, he already scored 15 points but took over in the third quarter with 12 points, taking his tally to 27 with a quarter left.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s accountability after Game 1 oozed confidence

In Game 1, the OKC were ahead at the halfway mark, with a 57-45 advantage. But in the final quarter, they were outplayed by the Pacers 25-35. Plus, the moment before the final shot, SGA had a bad miss. With the game on the line, he missed a 15-footer that would have put the Thunder up by three. Seconds later, Tyrese Haliburton hit his now-famous game-winner, thus the favorites are already behind.

When asked what the Thunder would do now, Shai gave a classic, no-nonsense answer that just screamed confidence. “We just got to focus on being better,” he said calmly. “This series isn’t first to 1, it’s first to 4, so we have four more games to get, they got three… It’s not rocket science. We lost Game 1. We have to be better.” That’s it. No beating around the bush. He understood the assignment and took accountability like a true leader and an MVP.

So yeah, while that Game 1 loss was a brutal way to kick off the NBA Finals, the Thunder’s spirit seems totally unshaken. And you can bet a huge part of that is their leader. Plus, these records only add to his resume as he continues to ascend to the top of the league.