Jan 16, 2025; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) during introductions before the start of a game against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images
As the press conference room was filled to the brim, more reporters populated the space than chairs available. Such a site is usually reserved for the playoffs — not a January regular-season outing.
Such comes with the territory of the Oklahoma City Thunder‘s 134-114 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers. Credit to the NBA, it did a marvelous job as the hype man for both clashes between the league’s top two teams.
Billed as “The Rematch,” the Thunder didn’t just survive Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen without Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein — but thrived in their small-ball lineup. An astonishing 30-2 run catapulted OKC to its one-sided affair. It led by as many as 42 points.
The NBA world was amazed and puzzled by what the depleted Thunder did against the Cavaliers. After all, these two teams have been the cream of the crop all season. They’ve destroyed their competition and have run away with the first seeds.
With the extra attention, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has lapped Nikola Jokic in the two-player race for MVP. There’s still plenty of track left before either crosses the finish line, but the 26-year-old has built up a textbook case to win the prestigious award after he finished runner-up to him last season.
Gilgeous-Alexander only needed three quarters to score an efficient 40 points. That’s been a theme this season where he’s not required to play the fourth quarter because of how lopsided the score is. To do that against the Washington Wizards on local airwaves is one thing. But on national TV against the Cavaliers? C’mon now. That’s unfair.
What Gilgeous-Alexander is doing right now will go down in basketball history. To headline a 70-win pace squad with the injuries they’ve juggled is about as textbook of an MVP case as there has ever been. Conventional wisdom is slowly catching up to what’s been known in OKC all season.
“Personally, it feels good. All the hard work paying off. Nothing is guaranteed in life. You take everything that goes your way as a blessing, don’t take it for granted. That’s what I try to do,” Gilgeous-Alexander said on the national attention the Thunder have received. “It definitely feels good. You try not to get too wrapped in it and keep plugging away at your job every night and that’s what I continue to do.”
What about the rest of the roster? What do the extra cameras mean to them?
“As a team, I’m probably more excited about that feeling,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “There’s obviously myself as the leading scorer, the leader of the team. I’m going to get most of the praise. But the world is seeing all the — we call them cockroaches in our locker room — the cockroaches and hyenas. Those are the guys that do the little work, the guys who don’t get the most praise, they don’t average 30 but they’re part of our winning and their season is just as big. I’m glad the world gets to see that. Hopefully, the world gets to see more and more that we’re not just a 1-2-3-man show. We are a full group of 15 guys.”
Gilgeous-Alexander is always a team-first guy — even after a season-defining win like that. It took the NBA a minute, but it’s finally realized how special this OKC season has unfolded. And considering the roster situation, expect plenty of more seasons like this.
This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: The NBA world is slowly realizing how special the OKC Thunder are
