One of the best moments that happened in the Oklahoma City Thunder‘s 2025 NBA playoff journey happened after an excruciating loss. After an overtime loss to the Denver Nuggets, the heavy title favorite had its back against the wall in a 2-1 series deficit.

The Thunder’s Game 3 overtime loss put the pressure to the max. As the Denver crowd celebrated, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was caught on the broadcast leaving the court with a wide smile that showed all of his teeth. With his eyes closed, he did his best Heath Ledger’s ‘Joker’ impersonation.

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The photo became iconic. It trended on social media. After the Thunder survived their Round 2 series against the Nuggets with a Game 7 blowout win, Gilgeous-Alexander reflected on that pivotal moment. He was one of the five NBA superstars who had their 2024-25 season chronicled by Netflix’s ‘Starting 5’ series.

Gilgeous-Alexander remained confident. A Game 3 loss didn’t creep any thoughts of an all-time collapse into his mind. Instead, he kept it straight and said the Thunder had plenty of time to win the Round 2 series still. Now, that doesn’t mean he didn’t embrace the villain role on the road.

“A fan is waving at me like, ‘Goodbye.’ He said something like, ‘Goodbye,’ or, ‘It’s over for you guys,’ and some gestures,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “I couldn’t help but smile. It was funny to me because I just know there’s so much basketball left to be played. He doesn’t know that. He’s just a fan. You can cheer now and laugh now, but we’re the better basketball team and it’s going to show.”

Woah. That’s extremely confident from Gilgeous-Alexander. The usually calm MVP rarely shows that characteristic publicly. So to see him create bulletin board material was novel. What makes it even more impressive is that he said that on camera after Game 3’s loss. There was no retrospectiveness involved.

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But hey, Gilgeous-Alexander’s belief was backed up by reality. The Thunder eventually won the Round 2 series classic against fellow MVP candidate Nikola Jokic. Several OKC players have said that it was the toughest of their four playoff series on their way to an NBA championship.

The Netflix crew did well with Gilgeous-Alexander’s experience in that Nuggets playoff series. It was worth skipping over their Round 1 sweep of the Memphis Grizzlies to give it additional airtime. To hear him call his shot like Babe Ruth and hit a home run was an epic moment and a highlight of the show’s second season.

“Like I said, the better team won. Shoutout to him that was taunting me,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “Appreciate you.”

This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander remained confident in Nuggets playoff series