Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on his mentality amid the Thunder's brutal stretch of the regular season.
Oklahoma City Thunder All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander took the opportunity to remind reporters of the blessed life he's living as an NBA star. Despite the Thunder's grueling regular-season schedule of late, Gilgeous-Alexander put things into perspective following Oklahoma City's back-to-back wins against the Magic and Heat. He says his team embraced the challenge of traveling from Las Vegas to Florida, not wanting to make any excuses as to why their regular-season winning streak ended.
The Thunder's NBA Cup loss to the Bucks does not count toward the regular season, granting the Western Conference's No. 1 team the opportunity to stretch their five-game winning to seven on a back-to-back set in Florida. After beating the Magic 105-99, they followed up with a 104-97 win against the Heat.
After the win, Gilgeous-Alexander talked about his mindset heading into the challenge.
"We want to make an excuse," Gilgeous-Alexander said. "We, I like to say, have the best jobs in the world. It sounds crazy, but it's a little bit spoiled. We played basketball two nights in a row and got paid to do so. It's so insane. Do you know what I mean? We have an amazing opportunity. We're blessed to be in this position, and personally, I love playing basketball. So, I didn't see the opportunity as insane, I saw it as something I get to do, and I love it."
But where does that perspective come from?
"I think it's my parents raising me," Gilgeous-Alexander replied. "Humility and being humble was like always the first thing. And just being grateful for the opportunity. So many people in the world don't have the same opportunities that I've had as a kid growing up, and I do today. And not to say my life has been perfect by any means, but it's been better than a lot always to be grateful.
"And if you look at life through that lens, usually good things happen to you, and I think that's how I got here," Gilgeous-Alexander concluded.
Jalen Williams sounds off on Thunder's grueling schedule of late
Thunder All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams discussed the grueling schedule after beating the Heat. After the win, Williams delivered his take on the Thunder's impressive back-to-back wins.
"We're some dogs, man. And I don't mean the barking stuff we do. That is a crazy travel schedule, and Cup games are a little more intense, and obviously, we go down to the wire for both teams," Williams said. "Miami and Orlando, who are really good defensive teams, and good teams in general."
The Thunder will host the Wizards on Monday night.