Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been the best player at the FIBA World Cup and it's not particularly close

06.09.2023 23:38

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has Canada in the World Cup semifinals.

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What’s up folks. Prince here with your Wednesday edition of Layup Lines, and I hope your day is going as well as it is for the Canadian national team.

Canada advanced to the FIBA World Cup semifinals with a convincing win over Luka Doncic and Slovenia Wednesday morning, and now BetMGM has them favored by 5.5 points over Serbia with a spot in the championship game on the line.

Many of the headlines in the aftermath of Canada’s victory were focused on Dillon Brooks, who played great but made waves for other reasons; he was booed by the crowd at the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila, Philippines, during player introductions and subsequently embraced the villain role like he does so well, blowing kisses to the crowd after making a couple of 3-pointers and eventually getting ejected for taunting the opposing team. And after the win, he greeted teammates and coaches in the back with boxing gloves and some playful jabs. It was truly the full Dillon Brooks experience.

However, what shouldn’t be lost in all of this is how good Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was and has been all tournament. SGA scored a game-high 31 points on 8-of-12 shooting and also recorded a game-high 10 rebounds to go with four assists. Simply put, he was the best player on the floor — even above Doncic, who was eventually ejected himself.

In fact, according to HoopsHype’s global rating, Gilgeous-Alexander has been the best player in the World Cup, and it’s not particularly close. His 40.15 rating across six games is five points better than No. 2 Doncic at 35.01. Serbia’s Bogdan Bogdanovic is No. 3 at 29.38. The best U.S. player has been Tyrese Haliburton at No. 19 with a 18.61 rating.

Best players at the World Cup, per HoopsHype's Global Rating.

Shai is a mortal lock to win MVP now pic.twitter.com/hGCDX67u7c

— HoopsHype (@hoopshype) September 6, 2023

Of course, the U.S. is a deeper team, so their production is spread out across the roster. But Gilgeous-Alexander makes Canada a real threat to beat the U.S. if they meet in the finals. Canada’s +300 title odds are second to the U.S. at -185, and many of the players across each team are very familiar with one another.

But regardless of how the tournament ends, SGA is giving fans a preview of what’s coming next NBA season. Because if last year didn’t put people on alert of what he’s capable of — and that the Oklahoma City Thunder are coming — the World Cup is serving as a another warning.

Gilgeous-Alexander’s 20-1 MVP odds at BetMGM trail eight other players, making him a solid sleeper pick after finishing fifth in voting last season. Nobody should be surprised if he puts together a top-three season as an encore.

The Tip-Off

Some NBA goodness from around the USA TODAY Sports network.

Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images

I can’t wait for this saga between the Philadelphia 76ers and James Harden to be settled. I really can’t. So we can all stop talking about it.

But as is, this is probably the biggest unsettled storyline of the NBA offseason, and as we wait for a resolution, more details just continue to trickle out.

The latest is this story by ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne, which gives us a little peek into what went wrong between the sides. It paints the picture of a sacrifice by Harden that he believes wasn’t properly appreciated. And, according to Shelburne, the first hint of that was when Harden was snubbed from the All-Star team.

As Shelburne reports, Harden was dismayed by the snub. And when Adam Silver reached out to name him as an injury replacement, Harden didn’t immediately respond because he was “pouting.”

This particular anecdote stands out because Harden responded to it under an ESPN post on Instagram, calling the report “lies.”

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And just like that, we have another thread in this tangly web of apparent distrust between the sides. This report surely isn’t going to make Harden feel any better about the situation in Philadelphia.

I’m not sure what the Sixers’ plan is moving forward, whether they want to keep Harden or not. But if they were hoping this would just go away and he would show up a happy camper for preseason, I feel confident saying that ain’t happening. As much as we would all like to move on, I wouldn’t expect that anytime soon.