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MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on if Thunder are as good as Bulls, Warriors: ‘What we’re after’
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- MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on if Thunder are as good as Bulls, Warriors: ‘What we’re after’
The Thunder appear to be on their way to becoming the NBA’s next dynasty.
Even though they’ve only won one championship, they’re already being talked about in the same breath as the league’s most elite teams.
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This season they joined the Bulls (1995-97) and Warriors (2014-16, 2015-17) as the only teams to win at least 80% of their games over a two-season span. And they set the NBA record for the highest cumulative point differential over that span.
The Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has led the team to the Western Conference finals, but Oklahoma City has loftier goals. Getty Images
“The Thunder is one of the greatest teams ever in NBA history,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “It’s just the reality. They’re that good.”
Does Shai Gilgeous-Alexander agree?
As he walked out of Crypto.com Arena amid his team’s 8-0 postseason run, he was asked to weigh in on whether he believes his team is as good as Michael Jordan’s Bulls and Steph Curry ’s Warriors that dominated the league.
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“I don’t know,” Gilgeous-Alexander told The California Post. “That’s so far from where we are today. Those teams have won multiple in a row. We’ve won one and are in the [Western Conference finals] of this run, so it’s so far away. We still have a lot to do to get there.
“So, to answer your question, right now, no. We’re far from it.”
Jordan led the Bulls to six championships over an eight-year span from 1990-98. Curry carried the Warriors to four titles in eight years from 2015-2022.
The Thunder swept the Lakers in the second round of the NBA playoffs Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
There’s a Mount Everest-sized difference between a team that won one championship and franchises that dominated the league for nearly a decade.
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But if you watch the Thunder , it feels as though you’re witnessing greatness.
They could be on the verge of etching their name onto the Mount Rushmore of NBA dynasties.
For two straight seasons, the Thunder have had the league’s best net rating and top-rated defense. They have a two-time MVP in Gilgeous-Alexander . They’re a well-oiled machine with a seemingly endless cadre of fresh legs that are able to dismantle teams on both ends of the court.
Get past the swarming defense of Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams , Lu Dort , Alex Caruso and Cason Wallace ? You have a frontcourt of Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein waiting to swat your shot or displace your body with their physical, 7-foot physiques.
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On offense, try to contain Gilgeous-Alexander , who can be likened to a metronome because of his consistency? There are nine other lasers waiting to shine. It’s like playing Whac-A-Mole.
The Thunder don’t have any weaknesses. They’re deep, strong, agile and young. Their chemistry is palpable. After spending 48 minutes as a cohesive tidal wave swallowing their opponent, they sit around the locker room after games joking with each other.
It’s clear the Thunder are special .
Perhaps no one knows that more than LeBron James , who was recently asked if the Thunder are as good as the dynastic Warriors, whom he met in four straight Finals from 2015-2018 when he played for the Cavaliers.
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“They’re pretty damn good from top to bottom,” said James, whose Lakers were swept out of the second round of the playoffs by the Thunder. “They don’t let their foot off the gas.”
The Thunder are so deep that they won four games against the Lakers by an average of 16 points even though Gilgeous-Alexander only scored 24.5 points per game, a marked dip from the league-leading 33.7 points he averaged in the first round. Oh, and Oklahoma City was without Williams, who was sidelined with a strained hamstring.
None of that mattered.
This postseason, Holmgren is averaging 18.6 points and 9.1 rebounds. Ajay Mitchell became a breakout star, averaging 18.8 points, 4.9 assists and four rebounds. Jared McCain and Wallace are shooting better than 46% from beyond the arc. The Thunder have weapons everywhere, including deep into their bench rotation.
Gilgeous-Alexander, who won his second consecutive NBA MVP Award, says the Thunder have a chance to be mentioned among the NBA’s elite teams. Getty Images
But the Thunder’s biggest challenge is next.
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They’re playing the Spurs in the Western Conference finals, the one team they’ve struggled against this season. Of the 18 games they lost, four were to San Antonio . The Thunder won 64 games this season, the Spurs won 62.
For the Thunder to become the first team to repeat for a title since the Warriors in 2018, they will have to get past Victor Wembanyama , the 7-4 Defensive Player of the Year who is expected to become the next face of the league.
Gilgeous-Alexander is far more focused on winning two more playoff series than basking in the talk around his team’s potential.
He believes the Thunder could become a dynasty.
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But they haven’t accomplished anything yet.
“We have the opportunity in front of us,” Gilgeous-Alexander told The California Post. “But so does every team that wins one. You win one and you have the opportunity to repeat. In the past few years, teams haven’t been able to do it. But it’s our goal, and that’s what we’re after.”
Gilgeous-Alexander wants the Thunder to become the next Bulls or Warriors. It’s why he gives his all every night on both ends of the court. It’s why he empowers his teammates. It’s why his team is soaring.
But while the comparisons are nice, he believes they’re empty.
At least for the moment.
“Today, no,” he said of whether his team belongs in the same conversation as the Bulls and Warriors. “But hopefully we are.”
