The stats don't lie|A number of data league firsts!Alexander, who squeezed out Curry, is going to grab the MVP?

Doncic scored 73 points to become the active single-game scoring leader, and Booker scored 62 points and broke multiple records. The high-scoring storm of the two stars made Alexander's 31 points today look unremarkable. The Thunder ranks first in the West, everyone sees it, but not too many people may notice that Alexander, as the core of the Thunder, has already ranked first in the league in a number of statistics! After squeezing out Curry's All-Star starters, Alexander is going to grab the regular season MVP next!

Let's take a look at a few sets of stats, so far this season, Alexander has scored a total of 1,370 points, ranking first in the league, and a total of 100 steals, also ranking first in the league. Marking the two main stats of offense and defense, he is the leader of the league. After switching to average data per game, Alexander averages 31.1 points per game, third in the league, behind Embiid and Doncic, and 2.3 steals per game, still first in the league.

How terrible is his scoring ability?

Alexander has played 44 games this season and has scored 30+ points in 33 games, ranking first in the league for 30+ points. StatMamba gives another statistic, in the past 5 seasons, Alexander has scored at least 30 points and made at least 2 steals in a single game, which is also the first in the league in the same period!

Unlike the vast majority of guards in the league, Alexander's offense doesn't rely on three-pointers, averaging 31.1 points per game but only 1.2 three-pointers per game. Sharp mid-range shots and unsolvable breakthroughs are enough to give defenders a headache. According to the data on the NBA's official website, among the players who average at least 4 shots per game, Alexander's mid-range shooting percentage (51.1%) is the highest, and behind him are Embiid (50.7%), Ingram (48%), Durant (46.4%) and many other mid-range shooters. The last guard who averaged 30+ points per game and made less than 2 three-point shots per game was Wade 15 years ago.

If you're close to Alexander's mid-range shots, he'll use his speed to easily get past you and score under the basket. The stats show that Alexander scored 1.383 points per round under the basket, which is on par with the stats of forwards such as Antetokounmpo, James, and Zion. Don't get me wrong, Alexander is more than just a scorer.

His defense and his influence on victory

As mentioned above, Alexander's tackling ability is very strong, and he is likely to be the steal king this season. His height, quick hands, and excellent anticipation make him a good defender.

His improvement in playmaking is also evident. This season, Alexander is averaging a career-high 6.4 assists per game, and the Thunder's offensive power is among the best in the league when he's on the court.

The stats show that when Alexander is not on the court, the Thunder's offensive efficiency is 114.5, which is the same as the Raptors, who rank 18th in the league in offense, and when Alexander is on the court, the Thunder's offensive efficiency is as high as 123.9, what level of data is this? The Pacers, who have the strongest offense this season, have an offensive efficiency of 121.2. When Alexander is on the floor, the Thunder can outscore their opponents by 12.4 points per 100 rounds, while when he is not on the floor, the Thunder can only outscore their opponents by 1.5 points per 100 rounds, a difference of 10.9 points.

What about the two stars who average more points per game than Alexander? Doncic's difference in absence is -0.1 points, which means that the Mavericks can win by 0.1 points more per 100 possessions without Doncic not playing. Embiid's difference in absence is 6.3 points, and neither is as good as Alexander in that statistic.

There is a chance to beat the two central strikers

The Thunder have rushed to No. 1 in the West, and Alexander's individual performance is so good, there is no doubt that he is a strong contender for the MVP of the regular season. A number of American media believe that Alexander really has a chance to beat the two major centers.

First, the potential advantage of the record. Judging by the current record, the Thunder have a better record than the 76ers and the Nuggets, which also gives Alexander the confidence to compete with the two centers. Doncic also has strong stats, even scoring 73 points in a single game, but he is not a major contender for MVP, an important reason is that his team record is not good, and the Mavericks are currently 25-20 and only ranked 8th in the West.

Second, super stability. As a defender, he is generally not as consistent as a center forward, but Alexander is not inferior to the two center forwards in this regard, if not stronger. In other words, he has played too few games that have been out of shape. The stats show that so far this season, Alexander has played 44 games, and only three have shot less than 40 percent, accounting for 6.8 percent. Doncic, who is also a guard, played 38 games, shooting less than 40% in eight games, accounting for 21.1%.

As a center, Jokic played 45 games and shot less than 40 percent from the field in five games, accounting for 11.1 percent. Embiid played in 33 games, two of which were shooting less than 40 percent, or 6.1 percent. Alexander, who is 15 centimeters shorter than Embiid, is not easy to have such a consistent shooting percentage.

When commenting on Alexander's competitive advantage, the American media mentioned Embiid's attendance problem, and he may eventually miss the MVP award because he does not meet the 65-game award requirement. Especially on the premise that the Thunder finally get the first regular season record in the West.

Even if Alexander fails to become the MVP this season, the American media is optimistic that he will continue to improve next season and become a more competitive MVP candidate. After all, Alexander is only 25 years old now, and he still has room to improve.

By the way, Alexander is from Canada and is also an international player. Since Harden in the 2017-18 season, the league's regular season MVP award has gone to international players for five consecutive years (two years for Antetokounmpo, two years for Jokic, one year for Embiid), and if nothing else, the three MVP candidates for this season will be Embiid, Jokic and Alexander, and the award will ultimately go to international players. Are you optimistic that Alexander will become the league's MVP in the future?