You won’t find many highlight reels filled with 15-foot jumpers. But if you watch Shai Gilgeous-Alexander long enough, you’ll start to realize something: greatness doesn’t always scream.
Sometimes, it’s quiet. Efficient. Inevitable.
As Tim MacMahon of ESPN notes, Gilgeous-Alexander has become the league’s best scorer by perfecting the shot most defenses are happy to give up – the mid-range pull-up.
But the real story lies behind the scenes – with assistant coach Sam Cassell, who helped plant the seed long before the world noticed.
“They’re giving you the 15-foot pull-up shot,” Cassell said. “So I just told him from day one, if this is the shot they’re giving, let’s be exceptional at this shot.”
While analytics declared the mid-range a mathematical error, Cassell and SGA approached it as an inefficiency in the system, an opening that no one else was willing to exploit.
“The analytic guys say it’s a bad shot,” Cassell continued, “but it ain’t a bad shot for him.”
The result? A scoring game built on rhythm and precision. No flash, no gamble – just calculated execution.
And in that quiet zone between the paint and the arc, Gilgeous-Alexander thrives. He doesn’t need to dazzle you. He needs to get to his spot.
Cassell always told him: “If anything go wrong, this is your bread and butter.”
Turns out, it’s also the formula for becoming the best scorer in basketball.
Thunder Notes: Jaylin Williams, SGA, Hartenstein, Defense https://t.co/KkOEYTwheE pic.twitter.com/5mNmzltuFQ
— Hoops Rumors (@HoopsRumors) June 16, 2025
