Advertisement - scroll for more content
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement - scroll for more content
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Andrew Gaze: This is in the early 90s when the Celtics are flying and stuff. And Dave Gavitt reached out to my dad and said, "Listen, we'd love to have Andrew at the Celtics sort of thing." And at the time, my dad was mentioning to me, you know, they're keen and I'm like, listen, they're fooling themselves. This is the Celtics. This is Larry Bird. I mean, I don't belong. They stayed with it and said, listen, just if you come to training camp, there was not a guarantee, but it was like, you come to camp with your skill sets… And I thought, no, I'm wasting my time. And all this already been through it with Seattle and I sometimes I think of well, what could have happened? What might have happened?
Is he happy with where the team is now? “Yeah, absolutely,” says Gilgeous-Alexander. “Winning basketball games is no secret. Who you play against brings different challenges, but we know what it’s going to be, we know what it’s going to come down to. It’s just about us getting it done and being ready to get it done. Getting to final form, we’re shaping up, guys are coming back. I feel like we’re in a good rhythm right now going into the postseason.”
“I understand why [fans] are frustrated about it, because they’re an X, Y and Z fan,” says Gilgeous-Alexander. “They’re playing against us, and in the past couple years we’ve happened to beat their team. And we beat their team because we scored more points. We scored points at the free throw line, midrange, three-point shot, free throw, everything. So I completely understand why they’re frustrated. Gilgeous-Alexander shrugs at the criticism. He averages 9.1 free throw attempts this season, fewer than Luka Dončić (10.3) and tied with Deni Avdija. He points out the only time he averaged double-digit attempts was in 2022–23. “And nobody cared,” he says, “because we were the No. 10 seed.” He isn’t bothered by the internet outrage. He just points out the numbers don’t back it up.
“But you’ll never hear an OKC fan complain about my free throws. You’ll never hear a Denver fan complain about Jokić’s free throws. You’ll never hear a Lakers fan complain about Luka’s free throws. It’s just part of the business. But I love it, it creates buzz around the game. It creates rivalries. It creates energy. It’s what makes the NBA so fun. Honestly, the fact that they care so much is great, because they care, they watch it on TV, the TV deals grow, I get more money. It’s how it goes. That’s honestly how I see it. So I love it. It’s amazing. It makes the games more fun.”
None of it is surprising, he insists. Gilgeous-Alexander counts Chris Paul as one of his earliest mentors. In his first season in Oklahoma City, Paul told him: You know you are starting to do things when you go to other arenas and they boo you. “That’s very true,” says Gilgeous-Alexander. Let the crowds complain. Let the talking heads gripe. To Gilgeous-Alexander, it’s just evidence he’s doing something right. “Everybody in the history of the NBA has an arc where everyone loves them, and then everyone hates them,” says Gilgeous-Alexander. “LeBron James was hated, and look what he’s done for the game? It’s part of the game. I love it. It’s stuff I dreamed about as a kid.”
Advertisement
A fight for seeding will do that, too. Last season Oklahoma City had the top seed sewed up by St. Patrick’s Day. This one has been more competitive. The Thunder have been a fixture at the top of the standings but have been forced to fend off the surging Spurs—who have beaten OKC four times this season. “For me it’s made things a lot more fun,” says Gilgeous-Alexander. “You just play longer. Last year I feel like my break from playing to my first playoff game was a little bit too long because I was out the last week of the season because we had already wrapped things up. But yeah, I definitely think we’ll go into a playoff sharper this year.”
The Oklahoma City Thunder, the NBA’s reigning champion, will not make the customary White House visit during their road trip to the nation’s capital this weekend, a team spokesperson said. The organization and the White House had conversations about a celebration of the team’s 2025 title, but a “timing issue” prevented it from happening, that spokesperson said. “We have been in touch with the White House and we are appreciative and grateful for the communication we have had, but the timing just didn’t work out,” the Thunder said in a statement shared with The Athletic.
Draymond Green: Man, can you imagine, though, for players in the Western Conference? You get Vegas and Seattle. Meanwhile, the East picks up Minnesota and Memphis. Man, that’s a drastic change. Guys in the West, you are ecstatic. Like, yo, you get trips to Vegas and Seattle now, as opposed to going to Minnesota more than once, or going to Memphis more than once. And just do Memphis—do everybody a favor—and move that team to Nashville. There are no great hotels in Memphis. I love the people of Memphis. They are incredible. Shout out to the people of Memphis. I love them. But just from an NBA standpoint, man, there’s not a sauna or a hot tub in sight. Nowhere. Not at the gym, not at a spa, not at a hotel—nothing. Not in sight. So the NBA either needs to send that team to Nashville so they can have proper facilities, or, even better, the NBA should make it mandatory that teams have at least a hot tub and cold tub, but probably also a sauna, in their visiting locker room.”
Draymond Green: Just going on to Nashville. Shout out to the owners. Don't charge them a relocation fee. They just going up the street and doing all us a favor. So, let's not charge Adam. Joe, I know you're on the competition committee. Joe Lacob. Um, let's not charge them a relocation fee. Please. Let them just do all Let them just do us all a favor and take the team to Nashville. No pro, no harm, no foul. The relocation fee, you got to leave that arena that I'm sure they own. Relocation fee, it's a swap. You leave that arena. You ain't got to pay the relocation fee. Go to Nashville. Do us all a favor, Adam. Nobody will be upset. Not one person will be upset. So GP said uh young GP GP2 my teammate GP said uh he'd request a trade immediately if if had a chance to play as a Seattle SuperSonic. I bet he would.
Justin Martinez: Final: Thunder 121, Nets 92 Jared McCain: 26 points and 2 blocks Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: 20 points and 6 assists Aaron Wiggins: 17 points and 7 rebounds OKC (55-15) has now won 10 straight games. Next up is a road game against Washington at 4 p.m. CT Saturday.
Advertisement
Justin Martinez: Gilgeous-Alexander has now scored at least 20 points in 130 straight games. It's the longest streak in NBA history.
Oh No He Didn't: "This all started because they love each other, they love being there to support each other, to hype each other up and I just happen to be kind of the wallpaper there that they get to scribble on at the end of each game" - @NickAGallo on the infamous postgame interviews
"This all started because they love each other, they love being there to support each other, to hype each other up and I just happen to be kind of the wallpaper there that they get to scribble on at the end of each game" - @NickAGallo on the infamous postgame interviews pic.twitter.com/PYaBDklp9k
— Oh No He Didn't (@ohnohedidnt24) March 18, 2026
Who will be the NBA's best in five years? Here's our projection: 1. Victor Wembanyama; 2. Anthony Edwards; 3. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander; 4. Luka Doncic; 5. Cade Cunningham; 6. Cooper Flagg.
