Former NBA Champion Jeff Teague: ‘Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Saved The NBA’

Former NBA player Jeff Teague praised newly crowned MVP and Oklahoma City Thunder star guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander earlier this week for “saving the NBA” by perfecting the mid-range shot.

“I want to say something about Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. I think SGA saved the NBA,” Teague said Tuesday on the Club 520 Podcast. “[That’s] what I’m saying. I’m not saying because of how he performed, but the way he play, 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 3 or a layup,” Teague added. “I got crucified in Minnesota for wanting to shoot a mid-range shot if it wasn’t a 3 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.”

The mid-range shot is a jump shot or field goal attempt that an offensive player can take inside of the 3-point line but outside of the paint. The mid-range zone in the NBA is typically 10 to 16 feet from the basket.

Mid-Range Shooting Is Still Alive In The NBA

According to Basketball Reference, Gilgeous-Alexander shot 57.1% from 2-point range (697 of 1221), including mid-range shots and finishes at the rim in the regular season.

“He made it acceptable again because even though his game is very smooth, he’s not the most entertaining person, but if you watch basketball, you’re like, ‘How is he so effective?'” Teague said.

“It’s all based on his ability to get to the midrange. So now other people watching know they’ve got to be a 3-level scorer because they’ve got to be able to get a good shot every time.”

Perhaps Teague is correct, in that, Gilgeous-Alexander saved the mid-range shot from dying and has helped revitalized it for the new generation of basketball players.

In Oklahoma City’s 124-94 series-clinching home win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night in the Western Conference finals, he became one of three players to record 30-plus points and 5-plus assists at least 10 times in a single postseason.

SGA joined LeBron James (2015, 2017, 2018) and Michael Jordan (1989, 1990, 1992).