BBNBA: Gilgeous-Alexander's mundane dominance; Adou Thiero dunks in NBA debut

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s NBA dominance is so routine that it’s boring. It is almost expected that the reigning MVP will rattle off 30 points to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a comfortable win. You sometimes have to remind yourself that this level of excellence is generationally uncommon because glossing over SGA’s uncanny streak can be easy to do.

Stats like this help to smack some awareness into those growing numb to his greatness. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leads the NBA in points scored with 456. If you take out all of the points SGA has scored in the 4th quarter this season, he still has 404…which also leads the NBA. The next highest scorer in the league is fellow Kentucky guard Tyrese Maxey with 384.

The Charlotte Hornets were the latest victims of Gilgeous-Alexander’s mundane supremacy. SGA dropped 33 points and had seven assists as OKC beat Charlotte by 23 on Saturday night. On the bright side, the blowout win afforded solid minutes for Antonio Reeves, who played in just his second game as a Hornet. Reeves knocked down three out of his five 3-point attempts to finish with nine points in just over 17 minutes of action.

Back to SGA and the Thunder, the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors better watch out. OKC is 13-1 to start the year, which puts them on pace to win more regular-season games than any team in NBA history, a record currently held by the Warriors, who went 73-9.

On top of that, Gilgeous-Alexander has now scored at least 20 points in 83 consecutive games and has Wilt Chamberlain’s records firmly in his sights. Don’t take what he is doing for granted.

Adou Thiero dunks in NBA debut

You can’t make me not like Adou Thiero. Yeah, okay. He followed Calipari to Arkansas after entering the transfer portal to leave Kentucky, but watching that guy evolve into an NBA-caliber player in Lexington was a lot of fun, no matter how you pronounced his name.

Thiero made his NBA debut for the Los Angeles Lakers Saturday night and put an exclamation point on his first professional bucket. Off a Bronny steal, Thiero got the ball on a fast break and threw down a monstrous two-handed dunk, showcasing the athleticism that made the Lakers trade up to get him in the second round of the NBA draft in the first place. Adou finished with four points, having knocked down a pair of free throws as well.

OH MY GOODNESS ADOU THIERO pic.twitter.com/oykMppIaNl

— Lakers Empire (@LakersEmpire) November 16, 2025

Other BBNBA Notes

• We talked about not taking Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s dominance for granted, but the same thing can be said for Tyrese Maxey. The former Kentucky guard has turned into a bona fide superstar and keeps churning out monster game after monster game. On Friday, Maxey dropped 33 points against the surprisingly good Detroit Pistons, but he also had a season-high four steals too.
• To keep the “It is easy to forget how good he is” theme going, let’s give a nod to Julius Randle. He has been a beast with the Timberwolves this year, scoring at least 25 points in each of his last three games this week. In this, his 12th year in the NBA, Randle is averaging 25.5 points, 6.2 assists, and 1.3 steals, all career-highs.
• De’Aaron Fox, now fully healthy for the Spurs, missed a game-winning shot for San Antonio on Thursday, leading to a one-point loss to the Warriors. Fox, the former NBA Clutch Player of the Year, was hoping to get back to is clutch ways, but came up just short on the would-be game-winner. He still had 24 points on the night.