Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander etched his name into the NBA record books on Monday night by matching one of the league’s most iconic scoring feats. The reigning MVP tied Wilt Chamberlain’s long-standing record of scoring at least 20 points in 126 consecutive games.
Gilgeous-Alexander reached the milestone during Oklahoma City’s matchup against the Denver Nuggets. Late in the third quarter, the guard drained a three-pointer to push his total to 22 points, ensuring that the remarkable streak would continue. With the record now equalled, he has the opportunity to stand alone at the top when the Thunder host the Boston Celtics on Thursday.
The record had been held solely by legendary center Wilt Chamberlain since the early 1960s. Chamberlain set the mark between 1961 and 1963, scoring at least 20 points in every game of the 1961-62 season while playing for the Philadelphia Warriors. That historic run included his famous 100-point performance in 1962, still the highest-scoring game in NBA history. The streak eventually ended on January 20, 1963, when Chamberlain played only four minutes for the San Francisco Warriors against the St. Louis Hawks and failed to reach the mark.
Denver Nuggets coach David Adelman acknowledged the significance of Gilgeous-Alexander’s achievement before the game.
“The name that he is up there with is Wilt,” Adelman said. “If you love this game, you should love the history of it. And for him and for Wilt, to talk about him again and again and again on his records — it just says a lot about Shai’s career, the consistency that he’s shown over the years.”
The streak highlights Gilgeous-Alexander’s incredible scoring consistency. During the run, he has delivered several standout performances, including five games in which he scored at least 50 points. One of the most notable came earlier this season when he poured in a career-high 55 points against the Indiana Pacers.
The last time the Thunder guard failed to reach the 20-point mark was on October 30, 2024, when he scored 18 points against the San Antonio Spurs. Since then, he has reliably crossed the threshold in every game he has played.
Against Denver on Monday, Gilgeous-Alexander had already scored 17 points by halftime before eventually pushing past the milestone in the third quarter.
Now level with one of basketball’s most legendary figures, the Thunder star stands on the brink of history, with a chance to claim the record outright in the coming days.
