The OKC Thunder and Cleveland Cavaliers met in a prime-time showdown between the No. 1 seeds on Wednesday night to decide, at least in the meantime, who is the true best in the NBA.
Although it was undoubtedly a massive effort and featured 30 massive lead changes throughout, after 48 minutes of play, it was the hometown Cavaliers who took control, beating Oklahoma City 129-122 and snapping their league winning streak. At 15.
Although it’s certainly an annoying way to see a victory bubble burst, perspective and avoiding overreactions are key in times like these.
Despite the loss, the Thunder remain the team with the highest defense (103.4) and the team with the highest overall net rating (11.6) in the entire league, and hold a commanding six-game lead over the second-seeded Houston Rockets in the Western Conference standings.
On top of all this, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander emphasized, during his post-match media conference, that even with Wednesday’s result, he believes the club can still improve, and that Oklahoma City is ultimately the best. It’s still where he wants to be In the long term.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander “can’t see a world” where he’s not with the Thunder
“I love Oklahoma City. I can’t see a world where I’m not in Oklahoma City. Market, no market. I don’t care. I love where I’m at.” Gilgeous-Alexander said.
The star will go on to stress that the environment he’s in is more important than salary numbers, stating that “money doesn’t matter to a certain extent” as long as “I enjoy what I’m doing at a very high level.” “I love the people I do this with.”
For a club as small as the OKC Thunder, one that doesn’t generally generate a ton of interest from players available across the league, this is a great thing to hear from their franchise player, especially considering they’ve already seen former cornerstone club Kevin Durant jump ship. For greener pastures at last.
Oklahoma City is a team primed for dynasty status thanks to its promising young roster, star-caliber players and history-breaking success.
When compared to other positions in the league, there’s an argument to be made that the one Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finds himself with the Thunder is unbeatable.
Add to that the fact that money is unlikely to be an issue with the two-time All-Star, as he is currently on track to make between $293.4 million this summer and $379.9 million if he sticks around signing a new deal. Until next season, and it’s easy to see why the 26-year-old has talked about wanting to stay with the organization long-term.
After such a disappointing result to their contest against the Cavaliers, this is exactly what Thunder fans love to hear!