While most players follow the trend, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander built his game on the shot the NBA forgot. His go-to move, the mid-range pull-up, isn’t just reliable; it’s unstoppable. And it all traces back to one mentor: assistant coach Sam Cassell.
When Gilgeous-Alexander was still carving out his place in the league, Cassell saw what others missed – a star hiding in plain sight.
“I just told him from day one,” Cassell recalled, “if this is the shot they’re giving, let’s be exceptional at this shot.”
It was a bold directive in a league obsessed with threes and layups. But Cassell’s insight was simple: if the defense is going to concede space, punish them from there.
“The analytic guys say it’s a bad shot,” he said. “But it ain’t a bad shot for him.”
Through relentless reps and laser-focused repetition, that mid-range jumper became Gilgeous-Alexander’s comfort zone – the place he turns when the game tightens, when the shot clock fades, when defenses collapse.
Cassell summed it up best: “If anything go wrong, this is your bread and butter.”
Now that “bread and butter” has become the staple of an MVP-caliber diet, it proves that the best players don’t just follow the trends. They make their own.
Thunder Notes: Jaylin Williams, SGA, Hartenstein, Defense https://t.co/KkOEYTwheE pic.twitter.com/5mNmzltuFQ
— Hoops Rumors (@HoopsRumors) June 16, 2025
