OKLAHOMA CITY — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander understood the assignment of Game 7.
“Those are the minutes, those are the moments when the best players, the biggest stars, the superstars, Hall of Fame players, make their name. I want to have that name, I want to have those titles attached to my name,” he said.
Gilgeous-Alexander excelled under the brightest of lights: 29 points and a career-playoff-high 12 assists in Game 7, leading the Thunder to a 103-91 win and the team’s first championship in the city. He controlled and orchestrated the game in a masterclass performance, and with that, he was the unanimous NBA Finals MVP.
Gilgeous-Alexander’s list of accomplishments in these Finals and throughout this season is historic:
• He is only the fifth player with 25+ points, 5+ rebounds and 10+ assists in Game 7 of the NBA Finals (Jerry West, Walt Frazier, James Worthy and LeBron James).
• First player to be named the regular-season regular season MVP and Finals MVP in the same season since LeBron James in 2012-13.
• First player to earn regular-season MVP and win the NBA championship in the same season since Stephen Curry in 2014-15.
• First player to win the NBA scoring title and the NBA championship in the same season since Shaquille O’Neal in 1999-00.
• Fourth player to win the NBA scoring title and be named the regular-season MVP and the Finals MVP in the same season (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Jordan — four times — and Shaquille O’Neal).
“Yeah, it’s hard to believe that I’m part of that group. It’s hard to even fathom that I’m that type of basketball player sometimes,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “As a kid, you dream. Every kid dreams. But you don’t ever really know if it’s going to come true. I’m just glad and happy that my dreams have been able to come true. That’s a “thank you” to everyone that’s been in my corner that helped me get there.”
His teammates were in awe.
“At the end of the day that’s going to go down in history as one of the greatest seasons that’s ever been had by a player,” Chet Holmgren said. “It’s amazing to be a part of that, to witness somebody going through it, succeeding in so many different ways He really makes it a joy to be around. It’s never about him. It’s always about us. It’s always about winning. His talent shines through all of that. We saw that all year. He’s a hell of a basketball player, but he’s an even better person.”
“I think he has a unique mindset. I think he gives us a lot of confidence,” Isaiah Hartenstein added. “Like we say all season, he’s always zero and zero. I don’t think he ever gets too high, too low. A great leader on and off the court. He also puts the work in. If you see him on a daily basis, the work he puts in on and off the court, the way he leads. I’ve been with a lot of players, a lot of superstars, but just how ego-less he is really makes him special.”
That 0-0 always mindset — which his teammates tease him about at times — has carried him to one of the great individual seasons in NBA history. And it earned him the NBA Finals MVP and a ring.
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