{"id":66008,"date":"2025-05-30T13:00:08","date_gmt":"2025-05-30T13:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/66008\/"},"modified":"2025-05-30T13:00:08","modified_gmt":"2025-05-30T13:00:08","slug":"nba-finals-is-one-big-family-trip-for-shai-gilgeous-alexander-thunder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/66008\/","title":{"rendered":"NBA Finals is one big family trip for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Thunder"},"content":{"rendered":"

Every teammate and coach hugged, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander<\/a> broke away from the celebration in the middle of the Paycom Center<\/a> court and walked toward the Thunder bench where his wife was waiting.<\/p>\n

She held their son, Ares<\/a>, who reached for his dad.<\/p>\n

Actually, the toddler reached for his dad\u2019s new hat, the one with the Thunder logo and the words “NBA Finals.”\u00a0<\/p>\n

SGA took it off and tried to put it on Ares, but he only seemed interested in seeing what was inside it. So, SGA put the hat back on, only to have Ares reach for it again and try to figure out what was underneath.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe best thing about that moment is that he has no clue what\u2019s going on, and he\u2019s just happy to see me,\u201d Gilgeous-Alexander said. \u201cYou get caught up in life in general. You get caught up in so many things that don\u2019t actually matter, and that\u2019s the biggest thing with having my son in the past year.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s put on the forefront. He\u2019s showed me everything that actually matters in life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yes, what was on the scoreboard Wednesday night was a big deal.<\/p>\n

Thunder 124, Timberwolves 94<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Celebrate the Thunder’s epic season with this new commemorative book<\/a><\/p>\n

5 TAKEAWAYS: OKC Thunder kicks down door to NBA Finals with demolition of Timberwolves<\/a><\/p>\n

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander stat line again spectacular for Thunder in Game 5<\/p>\n

But on the night the Thunder secured the Western Conference championship and a spot in the NBA Finals, Gilgeous-Alexander\u2019s why was on display for all to see. You didn\u2019t have to wait until those postgame snapshots to see it either. It was evident in his play, his excellence, his approach to the biggest game of his career.<\/p>\n

He is all about the love of and the care for family.<\/p>\n

And for Gilgeous-Alexander, his team is his family, too.<\/p>\n

He loved and took care of it Wednesday night, scoring a game-high 34 points on only 25 shots and adding seven rebounds, eight assists and two steals in a close-out game that became a coronation.<\/p>\n

Most impressive about his performance?<\/p>\n

\u201cThe tone,\u201d Thunder coach Mark Daigneault<\/a> said. \u201cHe just set an unbelievable tone. I think he understood his role in our mentality. He was a participant in that, and he was a leader in that. He was ready to play from the jump.\u201d<\/p>\n

Was he ever.<\/p>\n

Gilgeous-Alexander had a hand in Oklahoma City\u2019s first six baskets, scoring twice and assisting on three Chet Holmgren baskets as well as an Isaiah Hartenstein make. In the first quarter, Gilgeous-Alexander scored or assisted on all but two of the Thunder\u2019s 26 points.<\/p>\n

OKC led 26-9 at that point and never looked back.<\/p>\n

Neither did SGA.<\/p>\n

More: Thunder vs Timberwolves recap: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, OKC dominate way to NBA Finals<\/a><\/p>\n

SGA wanted Thunder fans ‘to have fun in the moment’<\/p>\n

He kept pouring on the points. A right-elbow jumper over Rudy Gobert. A breakaway after an Alex Caruso<\/a> steal that resulted in two free throws. A driving finger roll in the waning seconds of the first half.<\/p>\n

By halftime, the Thunder lead had ballooned to 33 points.<\/p>\n

The second half was a mere formality, and the Paycom Center crowd enjoyed every minute. It roared its approval for steals and rebounds and baskets and anything else the Thunder did. And for the entire fourth quarter, even though the game was completely in the Thunder\u2019s control, the fans stood.<\/p>\n

No one sat.<\/p>\n

Everyone celebrated.<\/p>\n

Winning at home was something Gilgeous-Alexander had in mind.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted the fans to be able to enjoy the moment with us,\u201d he said. \u201cI wanted them to be able to see it unfold in front of their eyes. I wanted them to be able to celebrate tonight in our building, go home, get drunk, whatever they do.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted them to have fun in the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n

This night was completely different than the last time the Thunder clinched a spot in the NBA Finals. On June 6, 2012, an Oklahoma City bunch powered by a couple of budding but baby-faced superstars in Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook ousted San Antonio from the Western Conference finals with a furious comeback. The Spurs scored 63 points in the first half, and the Thunder trailed by 15 points at halftime.<\/p>\n

But OKC only allowed San Antonio to score 36 points in the second half and stirred the Thunder faithful into a frenzy. After losing the first two games of the series, the Thunder won the next four, KD and Russ and The Beard and Serge and Perk besting Kawhi and Duncan and Tony Parker and Manu.\u00a0<\/p>\n

There was a feeling of wonder and awe in the building that night \u2014 only a few years early, OKC had gotten an NBA team of its own, and for it to be heading to the NBA Finals felt surreal.<\/p>\n

Surreal wasn\u2019t the feeling Wednesday.<\/p>\n

Certainty was more the vibe.<\/p>\n

More: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, OKC Thunder dismantle Timberwolves to reach NBA Finals<\/a><\/p>\n

SGA made Thunder teammates better en route to NBA Finals<\/p>\n

And that goes back to Gilgeous-Alexander. Despite his bob-when-everyone-else-weaves style, he is a force. An inevitability.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHe does a great job of playing aggressive and then letting the game tell him what the right play is,\u201d Thunder big man Chet Holmgren<\/a> said. \u201cSometimes that\u2019s score, and sometimes that\u2019s pass, but you never really feel like watching him or playing with him, you never feel like he made the wrong read.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the defense gives him pass, he passes. When the defense doesn\u2019t force that, then he scores. Obviously, he\u2019s really good at it.\u201d<\/p>\n

And he makes the Thunder really good.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He makes Daigneault and his staff really good. Makes Alex Caruso and Cason Wallace and the Thunder\u2019s snarling pack of reserves really good. Makes the bigs, Holmgren and Hartenstein, really good. Makes his Canadian bestie Lu Dort really good. Makes sidekick Jalen Williams really good.<\/p>\n

It was fitting that in the final moments of the game Wednesday, Gilgeous-Alexander and Williams sat next to each other on the bench, both covering their legs with towels, both loosening shoes and removing tape. These two have become Thunder 2.0\u2019s version of Durant and Westbrook.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Different in style but similar in results.\u00a0<\/p>\n

SGA and Williams watched and talked, one sometimes poking the other on the leg, the other sometimes tapping the one on the arm.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHonestly, we\u2019re always together, so the conversation wasn\u2019t much different than it always is,\u201d Gilgeous-Alexander said. \u201cObviously happy for the moment, but this isn\u2019t our goal. This isn\u2019t the end of the road.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yes, Gilgeous-Alexander celebrated after the win, holding his Western Conference MVP trophy and posing for photos with family and friends. When his dad took the trophy during a group photo, playful tossed it in the air and thankfully caught it without incident, SGA nearly doubled over in laughter.<\/p>\n

But he celebrated, too, with teammates and coaches who have become not only friends but also like family.<\/p>\n

We all know, after all, how Gilgeous-Alexander feels about family.<\/p>\n

More: Celebrate OKC Thunder’s amazing season and run to NBA Finals with our commemorative book<\/a><\/p>\n

Jenni Carlson: Jenni can be reached at jcarlson@oklahoman.com. Like her at facebook.com\/JenniCarlsonOK, follow her at @jennicarlsonok.bsky.social and twitter.com\/jennicarlson_ok, and support her work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today.<\/p>\n