Shai Gilgeous-Alexander may have just led the Oklahoma City Thunder to their first title since 1979, but the reigning Finals MVP isnt letting last seasons success cloud his judgment.
Gilgeous-Alexander explained that while the championship was special, it wasnt the peak version of his team, speaking after Oklahoma Citys 91 start.
Honestly speaking, I didnt like the way we won, if that makes sense, Gilgeous-Alexander told The Athletics Sam Amick. I didnt think we won an NBA championship playing our best basketball. That was the first time wed been that far in the playoffs, so it was a learning experience for us.
But it takes another level of focus, discipline, assertiveness, aggression, to be who we were in the regular season, and do that throughout the postseason.
The Thunders title run last year was built on toughness. They battled through two seven-game series, surviving Denver in the Western Conference Finals before outlasting Indiana in the NBA Finals, but it wasnt always pretty.
For Gilgeous-Alexander, the experience served as both a victory and a lesson.
Oklahoma Citys 202526 campaign has opened with even greater confidence and precision. They currently own the leagues best defense and the sixth-ranked offense, all while missing All-NBA forward Jalen Williams, who remains sidelined after wrist surgery.
The teams mindset this year is rooted in improvement rather than celebration, head coach Mark Daigneault told The Athletic earlier this week.
Offensively, weve tried to look at the season as if we lost in the second round, if we lost Game 7 against Denver. How would we be approaching this? Daigneault said. Rather than allowing the fact that we won it to bias us coming in were pushing ourselves to evolve.
If Gilgeous-Alexanders words are any indication, the Thunder arent satisfied with one banner, theyre chasing something even bigger.
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