OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) 鈥� Oklahoma City coach Mark Daigneault used Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's subtle sacrifices to show why the Thunder aren't like most playoff contenders that carry the 鈥測oung team鈥� label.
鈥淚magine if you鈥檙e a player and you can just get 40?鈥� Daigneault said. 鈥淗e could go out in a game and be like, 鈥業鈥檓 going to get 40 tonight.鈥欌��
Indeed, the All-Star guard 鈥� who averages 30.4 points per game 鈥� could easily chase stats and individual honors.
Instead, Gilgeous-Alexander has taken fewer shots this season and gets to the free-throw line less frequently, so his scoring has taken a slight dip. But as the 25-year-old Canadian stepped back, his teammates have flourished, and that has helped speed up the team鈥檚 rebuild.
A year after winning 40 games and reaching the Play-In Tournament and two years after winning just 24 times, Oklahoma City has 55 victories and is competiting for the best record in the Western Conference.
Daigneault said Gilgeous-Alexander's maturity has been an accelerator for the franchise.
鈥淚f you look at the best teams, the best players, there鈥檚 a level of restraint that they show that allows space for the rest of the team to operate and function with confidence. He鈥檚 done a great job of鈥� doing just that, Daigneault said.
Gilgeous-Alexander has been able to step back a bit without OKC taking a step back because Thunder general manager Sam Presti has surrounded him with elite young talent. During the stretch between the start of the 2021-22 season and the early part of this season, Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams and Josh Giddey have claimed eight of the 12 Western Conference Rookie of the Month awards.
So Gilgeous-Alexander, a first-team All-NBA selection last year, doesn't have to force things. He has reached career highs in field goal percentage (.539) and assists (6.2 per game) this season.
鈥淗e鈥檚 an MVP candidate,鈥� Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 nothing else you can say about it. When you鈥檝e got that, it鈥檚 your responsibility to build around it. And they鈥檝e done it. They certainly deserve a lot of credit.鈥�
鈥� Holmgren was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2022 NBA draft, but a foot injury kept him out last season. He has fit in seamlessly as a rookie this season, averaging 16.5 points, 7.9 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game.
鈥� Williams -鈥� runner-up for Rookie of the Year last season when Holmgren was out 鈥�- averages 19.3 points per game and shoots 53.9% from the field.
鈥� Giddey, a member of the All-Rookie team second team after being the sixth overall pick in 2021, averages 12.4 points, 6.4 rebounds and 4.8 assists per contest. He was especially good in March, averaging 16.3 points on 57% shooting, 7.0 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game.
鈥� The fifth starter, Lu Dort, has gone from being undrafted in 2019 to one of the best defensive guards in the league. He also is shooting a career-best 39.5% from 3-point range.
鈥淭he organization has done a fantastic job,鈥� Popovich said. 鈥淪am Presti is special, and the work he does is brilliant. And the entire coaching staff is committed, organized, makes people accountable, creative. The players are talented, but that鈥檚 not enough. They鈥檙e disciplined.鈥�
Sacramento Kings coach Mike Brown, whose team made a significant leap last season, said the Thunder have something going.
鈥淲hen you鈥檙e able to go through the process the right way, you鈥檙e going to be able to find guys that like playing, not just together, but playing for each other,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd you can tell from the outside looking in that this group really plays for each other on both ends of the floor and they believe that they are good and that they belong, which is really big.鈥�
Gilgeous-Alexander also has improved defensively, leading the league with 2.1 steals per game. Though this group hasn鈥檛 won a playoff series together, he believes the Thunder won鈥檛 be intimidated.
鈥淓ach team equally wants it the same,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he game and and the hustle and the focus is a little bit heightened. But end of the day, it鈥檚 still basketball and the same things work.鈥�
Oklahoma City鈥檚 rally from 20 points down to beat the Kings on Tuesday illustrated another trait that could serve the Thunder well in the playoffs 鈥� resilience.
鈥淲e鈥檝e been in this situation a lot,鈥� Gilgeous-Alexander said. 鈥淲e know what it takes. I guess that muscle鈥檚 kind of trained. You know, nobody wants to go down that big. But it鈥檚 a luxury to have guys that that understand how to get back, how to play through adversity. And I think we have a group of guys that does.鈥�
Oklahoma City had the league鈥檚 third-youngest roster on opening night with an average age of 24 years and 43 days. But that doesn't mean the team has to be reckless.
鈥淚f we hold ourselves to the standard of a young team, it鈥檚 like, at what point do we change that?" Daigneault said. "We鈥檝e just tried to build a really strong foundation that can transcend any team, any age and team, any cycle of team, so that鈥檚 what we can now build on.鈥�
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AP NBA:
Cliff Brunt, The Associated Press
