Discover how Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's mindset guides the Thunder's focus away from records and squarely onto championship pursuit.
The Thunder and Mavericks were tied after the first quarter of last night’s game, and it seemed like Dallas may keep the contest close. But by the beginning of the fourth quarter, Oklahoma City was up 30 points.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the way with 33 points on 10-of-12 shooting from the field, while Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren, Cason Wallace, Aaron Wiggins and Kenrich Williams all reached double-digit points.
After the game, Gilgeous-Alexander joined Amazon Prime Video’s show NBA Nightcap to discuss the Thunder’s success. His comments during the interview shed light on the team’s mentality and culture.
For example, Gilgeous-Alexander responded with the following statement when asked by Taylor Rooks about how the Thunder “are approaching this looming history in the locker room” in reference to its 22-1 start.
“We honestly don't give it any thought. Pay it no mind. We are focused on us just getting better as individuals and as a group through every game and through every experience. I think because we have that mentality that is so in the moment and so present we take advantage of every opportunity every night and we look up and our record is half decent.”
This mentality is absolutely crucial because chasing history can be a massive distraction. The 2016 Warriors found this lesson out the hard way. Golden State poured its energy and resources into securing 73 regular season wins, and it ran out of gas in the NBA Finals against Cleveland.
Oklahoma City finds itself in the same situation 10 years later. It’s currently on pace to win 78 games and smash the regular season records for point differential and net rating.
Will the Thunder lose perspective on the real prize of winning a championship? Based on Gilgeous-Alexander’s comments and the franchise’s leadership from top to bottom, the answer is no.
Another data point to support this notion is how Oklahoma City handles minor injuries. It has been extremely cautious about activating players who are nursing injuries. Alex Caruso, Chet Holmgren, Luguentz Dort and others have missed games to rest and fully recover. Whether these decisions hurt the Thunder’s chances of winning regular season games has not been in the equation. It’s about maximizing the team’s health come April.
Jalen Williams’ financial sacrifice is another example of how the players are solely focused on a title. He needed to make an All-NBA team this season for his upcoming extension to pay him more money. However, Williams did not rush his recovery and subsequently will not reach 65 games played this regular season, thus making him ineligible for the extra dough.
Overall, the Thunder’s words and actions in recent years all indicate that it will not chase history at the expense of championship equity. Gilgeous-Alexander’s leadership is a huge reason behind this discipline.