Shai Gilgeous-Alexander downplays significance of Thunder setting franchise record
03/28/2025 09:31 AM
OKLAHOMA CITY — After beating the Memphis Grizzlies 125-104, All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder made franchise history by securing their 61st win. However, for Gilgeous-Alexander, the endgame of winning an NBA championship eclipses the significance of becoming the franchise's most winningest team.
After the win, Gilgeous-Alexander downplayed the importance of setting a new regular-season record.
"It's cool, but it doesn't mean much. My ultimate goal, our team's ultimate goal, is not to set franchise records in wins. It's to hoist a trophy at the end of the season, and that's what we're after." Gilgeous-Alexander said. "So, it's cool, but it doesn't fill our cup."
For Gilgeous-Alexander, earning 61 wins in 73 tries is proof of a talented group. However, it doesn't bring the Thunder closer to winning a title.
"Nothing that we didn't already know. We know we're a good basketball team, and we've done a really good job of staying the course this year," Gilgeous-Alexander added. "We look up and we're getting things done because we take it day by day, and that's just what that is. That's what the testament is."
Still, sending a message to a team like the Grizzlies, tied with the Los Angeles Lakers for fourth place in the Western Conference standings, is necessary when sitting atop with a 61-12 record.
"The things that we're after, you don't let a team be more motivated than you come in here, and walk all over you if you want to win a championship, and that's what we're after," Gilgeous-Alexander said. "What it takes to win a championship, we want to walk in and embody every day, and I think that's why we've had success so far, because we try to take those steps towards that direction."
Mark Daigneault reacts to Thunder setting a franchise record
After Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault commended his second unit's production in Tuesday's 121-105 win against the Sacramento Kings, his Thunder starters, including Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, used a whopping 15-0 run to seal their 61st win of the season.
Daigneault reacted to the Thunder making franchise history for the most wins in a regular season.
"It's just a special group of players that operate in a special way. They deserve special things to happen for them," Daigneault said. "There [are] obviously more opportunities ahead of us. But the best thing about them is how they do it. The professionalism, the character, the connectedness; they play the way you want a team to operate. And they deserve everything that they earn."
The Thunder extended their winning streak to eight.
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