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"It was a failure" – Shai Gilgeous-Alexander gets candid about the Thunder's 2025-26 season
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- "It was a failure" – Shai Gilgeous-Alexander gets candid about the Thunder's 2025-26 season
The San Antonio Spurs were just too much to handle for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference finals, punching their ticket to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2014.
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A day after their 111-103 Game 7 loss, Gilgeous-Alexander reflected on an otherwise dominant playoff run during a media appearance — and he did not mince words about it. Although he won his second MVP, he was not satisfied with his postseason performance or its outcome.
Fans and pundits can point to the injuries of their key players. They can dwell on his brilliant Game 7 outing. But for Gilgeous-Alexander, there's no other way to put it: it was not a step to success — he simply failed.
"It was a failure," he said, via Anthony Slater. "I failed at my goal. I didn't achieve what I wanted to achieve."
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The Spurs seemed to have figured out OKC
The Thunder cruised to the WCF after sweeping the Phoenix Suns and the Los Angeles Lakers .
After the Spurs took care of the Portland Trail Blazers and Minnesota Timberwolves , fans and pundits got what they wanted — a battle for the Finals spot between the two juggernauts.
But the young and inexperienced Spurs proved that their regular-season success (4-1) against the Thunder was no fluke, as they ended victorious in the series. It seemed that they had figured out the Thunder puzzle, particularly its leader, Gilgeous-Alexander, who praised their rival's defense led by Victor Wembanyama .
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"They're absolutuely a good defense. There's a guy on their back line that is a little bit different," he said . "They funnel everything to him….It's a really good defense. But it's not impossible to score. I just think it's very different."
Across seven games, Gilgeous-Alexander posted 25.9 points on 40.9 percent shooting from the field, 2.9 rebounds and 8.9 assists. His scoring average and efficiency dropped from his MVP season, when he averaged 31.1 points per game on 55.3 percent shooting.
After an inconsistent first six games, he stepped up in Game 7 with 35 points, four rebounds and nine assists. But he couldn't will his team to victory alone, with the absences of Jalen Williams and Ajay Mitchell and an embarrassing performance by All-Star center Chet Holmgren , who finished with four points on 1-of-2 shooting.
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SGA shifts focus to the offseason
The loss capped yet another stellar and highly scrutinized season by SGA. In recent years, he has been criticized for his alleged constant foul-baiting and flopping, a brand of basketball that many have described as "unethical."
Now, according to Gilgeous-Alexander, he will be focusing on improving in the offseason, starting by revisiting the games in this series where he struggled and figuring out how to fix it — just like he does every other season.
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His "failure" against the Spurs? Well, it's another lesson for Gilgeous-Alexander in his pursuit of basketball immortality — one he will surely never forget in the seasons ahead.
"I learn the most about myself and make the greatest amount of increases in my career when I fail and don't get what I want. I look at this no different," Gilgeous-Alexander said. "I didn't get where I wanted to go this season. There's a reason for that. Now I have to look at that reason and try to make sure it never happens again."
Heading into the 2026-2027 season, Gilgeous-Alexander is still under his current four-year, $285 million super maximum deal with OKC and is set to earn $40.8 million. The team will also have interesting contract situations with its other players, but the MVP will remain uninvolved and will trust the front office with their decision.
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This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Jun 1, 2026, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
