Even as the basketball world grapples with the sheer absurdity of Bam Adebayo’s incredible 83-point explosion, another extraordinary accomplishment has captured widespread attention.
Remarkably, on October 30, 2024, the San Antonio Spurs achieved something no other team has managed since: they managed to limit Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to fewer than 20 points. The word “limited” is used loosely here, as the Spurs were so thoroughly outmatched in that contest that Gilgeous-Alexander’s presence in the fourth quarter was largely unnecessary. He concluded the game with 18 points.
Fast forward to Thursday, 127 games later, and Gilgeous-Alexander has now surpassed Wilt Chamberlain’s long-standing record for the most consecutive games scoring at least 20 points—a milestone that had stood unchallenged for more than fifty years.
This impressive run has been ongoing for such an extended period that it began prior to Cooper Flagg ever setting foot on the court for Duke.
To provide a clearer understanding of Gilgeous-Alexander’s unprecedented streak and his strong contention for the MVP award, here are seven distinct perspectives that highlight his remarkable assault on the NBA’s historical records.
(Amy Monks/Yahoo Sports Illustration)
1. Gilgeous-Alexander’s scoring run surpasses the combined length of the next two longest active streaks, held by Kawhi Leonard and Joel Embiid. In fact, as of Thursday, it exceeded the total of the next ELEVEN highest streaks put together.
Kawhi Leonard has maintained a remarkably consistent scoring output for the Clippers this season, recording 20 or more points in 43 consecutive games since November 28. This is truly impressive. Joel Embiid has likewise strung together 24 straight games with at least 20 points, a notable achievement. Tyrese Maxey, for his part, has accumulated 13 such games in a row, which is quite remarkable.
Even when these individual streaks are aggregated, their combined total falls short of Gilgeous-Alexander’s current mark. Indeed, prior to Thursday’s matchups, the total of the next eleven leading streaks—Leonard (43), Embiid (24), Maxey (13), Luka Dončić (11), Bam Adebayo (7), Trey Murphy III (5), Pascal Siakam (5), Devin Booker (4), Victor Wembanyama (4), Stephen Curry (4), and Jerami Grant (4)—amounted to a combined 124 consecutive games with 20 points or more, according to data from Stathead.com. It’s not merely that Gilgeous-Alexander’s streak is superior to all others; it’s that no other player’s current performance even approaches his ongoing accomplishment.
2. Gilgeous-Alexander has been rested for 30% of the Thunder’s fourth quarters during his streak.
Perhaps the most significant challenge to Gilgeous-Alexander’s scoring record isn’t the strength of opposing defenses, but rather the exceptional performance of his own squad. Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder have been so overwhelmingly dominant that the reigning MVP has frequently been benched during the fourth quarter, as the outcome of the game was already decided.
Specifically, the former Kentucky standout has sat out 39 fourth quarters throughout his streak, making its continuation even more astonishing. He has achieved this while only playing the full 36 minutes of an NBA game approximately one-third of the time. Most players require all four quarters of play to accumulate at least 20 points. Gilgeous-Alexander is an exception.
3. He has secured his 20-point performance before the final quarter in 90% of his appearances.
This point expands on the previous observation, adding a unique dimension. Not only does Gilgeous-Alexander frequently sit out fourth quarters due to his team’s superior play, but in most instances, he doesn’t even need to participate in the fourth quarter to maintain his remarkable scoring consistency.
He has reached at least 20 points by the commencement of the fourth quarter in an astounding 114 out of 127 games, which translates to 89.8%. This means the record is at risk in only about one in ten games heading into the final period. Truly extraordinary.
4. Stephen Curry could extend his personal best streak by 100 games and still not match Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s current run.
Stephen Curry stands as one of the NBA’s most prolific scorers, having amassed over 25,000 career points. He’s secured four championships and forever altered the sport. Yet, he has never approached a streak comparable to Gilgeous-Alexander’s current one. In fact, according to Stathead.com, Curry’s longest stretch of consecutive 20-point games is 23, achieved across the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons.
The veteran Golden State Warriors guard has actually never put together 20 consecutive games with 20 or more points within a single season, an accomplishment Gilgeous-Alexander has managed not just once, but five separate times. A contributing factor to this disparity is the inherent variability of the 3-point shot. Curry relies significantly more on a shot that converts at less than half the time, which can lead to considerable fluctuations in his scoring. In contrast, Gilgeous-Alexander maintains a 60% shooting efficiency on a substantial 15 2-point attempts per game, providing a much greater degree of scoring consistency.
Even if we consider streaks spanning multiple seasons, Curry’s peak is 23 straight games with 20-plus points, which remains a shorter streak than …
5. During a stretch last season, Gilgeous-Alexander recorded 20 or more points by the end of the third quarter in 26 consecutive games.
To reiterate: Last season, from November 25, 2024, to January 22, 2025, Gilgeous-Alexander consistently reached at least 20 points by the conclusion of the third quarter in 26 successive games. Merely three quarters of play were all he required to sustain this remarkable scoring run.
To contextualize this, Gilgeous-Alexander’s 26-game streak of 20 or more points through three quarters alone surpasses the career-best full-game streaks of the following players:
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Stephen Curry (23 games of 20-plus points)
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Donovan Mitchell (22 games)
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Karl-Anthony Towns (21 games)
This demonstrates an extraordinary level of sustained performance and individual brilliance.
6. Gilgeous-Alexander’s personal record is nearly double the length of the NBA’s current active team streak for having at least one 20-point scorer.
I may have already revealed the answer, but if I were to pose the question of whether Gilgeous-Alexander’s individual streak surpasses that of NBA teams having at least one 20-point scorer, what would your response be?
My initial thought was that there surely were teams that had outperformed Gilgeous-Alexander’s individual record. Surely, some team must have had at least one player score 20 points in every game this season and possibly beyond, right? If you shared that assumption, it turns out we would both be mistaken. As astonishing as it may seem, Gilgeous-Alexander’s personal scoring streak is longer than any team’s streak of having at least one 20-point scorer in a game.
And the gap isn’t narrow. Gilgeous-Alexander practically doubles the team competition.
Upon closer examination, only one team has managed to have a player score 20 or more points in every single game this season, and their identity might surprise you.
It’s not the Thunder, in fact. On February 12, a game where Gilgeous-Alexander was absent, the Thunder’s top scorer was Isaiah Joe, who managed a mere 17 points. In all other contests, the Thunder have successfully exceeded the 20-point threshold with at least one player.
However, the only team to boast a 20-point scorer in every game this season is not the Denver Nuggets, who lead the NBA in offensive efficiency. Although the Nuggets do lead all teams with 143 individual 20-point games this season, according to Stathead.com.
So, if it’s neither the Thunder nor the Nuggets, which team is it?
It’s not the high-powered rosters of the Los Angeles Lakers, Boston Celtics, or New York Knicks.
It’s also not a team currently holding a winning record.
Perplexed?
It’s the New Orleans Pelicans.
Indeed, the 22-45 Pelicans currently possess the longest team streak, having featured at least one player scoring 20 or more points in all 67 of their games this season. This can be verified. They’ve seen Zion Williamson and seven other players reach the 20-point mark in various games this season, distributed consistently enough to maintain the streak in every contest.
This led me to investigate last season’s data. What I discovered was that New Orleans’ streak actually began shortly before the current season. Reviewing last season, the Pelicans had a 20-point scorer in only three of their final regular-season games, which indicates that the longest active team record is, in fact, 70 games. This figure is nowhere near Gilgeous-Alexander’s individual accomplishment.
As incredible as it may sound, Gilgeous-Alexander’s personal record of 127 consecutive games with 20 or more points is nearly double the length of the longest active team record.
7. The Wizards’ longest streak of scoring 20 points this season spans 12 games.
I’m not exaggerating. Gilgeous-Alexander’s individual streak is 12 times longer than the longest team streak the Wizards have managed this season. Observe the following diagram, which depicts their last 126 games, extending back to the previous season:
Between the data presented in this chart and Bam Adebayo’s 83-point game, the Wizards have encountered a significant amount of unfavorable outcomes recently. Indeed, it has proven to be a challenging period for them.
