Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has matched Russell Westbrook for the number of playoff games in an Oklahoma City Thunder jersey with at least 30 points and 5 assists. The pair now sit on 24 such games each, which is a franchise record - Kevin Durant is third with 14.

SGA, freshly named back-to-back MVP, continues to build a statistical profile few active guards in the league can match. An average of 31.1 points per game in the regular season, with 55.3 percent shooting from the field and 6.6 assists, leaves no room for debate about the MVP pick.

This Thunder season looks like a continuation - not a replica - of Westbrook's best years in Oklahoma. The difference is that SGA does it with less theatre and more efficiency. Where Westbrook bulldozed through with sheer force, Gilgeous-Alexander plays with cold precision.

The benchmark is set. The question is whether this Thunder team will close the cycle with a title - something Westbrook, for all his numbers, never managed in Oklahoma.