OKLAHOMA CITY – Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was lying on the hardwood floor after being fouled during a shot attempt with his Oklahoma City Thunder down 10-3 in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals on Tuesday. Feeling that Gilgeous-Alexander was foul-baiting, Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards tossed the ball at his right knee. A referee called a technical. Gilgeous-Alexander responded by getting up and shooting the free throws with no retaliation.
“It’s true to my personality,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “I’m not always the loudest guy in the room. I don’t say too much. But my energy, effort and what I put on the floor speaks louder than anything. That is not only how I go about the game, that is how I go about life. Actions always mean louder than words.”
For Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder, actions are speaking louder than their age in this stellar season.
Those aforementioned words are from a 26-year-old who reportedly won the NBA Most Valuable Player award on Wednesday. Oklahoma City also has another NBA All-Star in Jalen Williams (24 years old) and talented rising forward Chet Holmgren (23), too. But on average, the Thunder also has the NBA’s youngest roster at 24.2 years of age and only one player over 30. Game 1 of the Western Conference finals was Oklahoma City’s first Western Conference finals in 12 years. The only Thunder player with championship experience is 31-year-old Alex Caruso, who won a ring with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020.
Despite a sluggish start and the aforementioned youth factors, Oklahoma City was again mature beyond its years en route to a 114-88 victory.
“A lot of it is riding the highs and lows of the game, especially now,” Williams said. “The stakes are higher. A 6-0 run is going to feel like a 12-0 run and vice versa for everybody. So, we kind of stay in the same mindset of what got us here. Kind of buckling down on our core fundamentals. Wherever the game takes us, it takes us.”
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From the start of the 2024-25 season, the Thunder have been the most dominant team in the NBA.
The West’s top seed won a league-best 68 regular-season games, finishing 16 games ahead of the second-place Houston Rockets in the conference. At 77 regular-season and playoff wins combined, Oklahoma City is now one playoff victory away from having the most victories in franchise history in a season (the Seattle SuperSonics won 77 games in the 1995-96 season). It wasn’t without adversity either — Holmgren missed 39 games due to a right pelvic fracture, center Isaiah Hartenstein missed 20 games with a fractured left hand and a calf injury, and Caruso missed 25 games due to various injuries and illnesses.
Throughout the season, the Thunder were not only dominant and overcame injury but had no drama off the floor. And when the Thunder faced their most adversity — a deciding Game 7 in the Western Conference semifinals on Sunday — they beat the 2023 NBA champion Denver Nuggets 125-93 to advance.
So, what has been the key for age being nothing but a number for the Thunder?
Perhaps it’s the quiet storm leadership of Gilgeous-Alexander or head coach Mark Daigneault. Caruso and Hartenstein have played in their share of NBA battles. Perhaps it’s, in part, the camaraderie of this team where most of the players stand by their teammate when he is being interviewed postgame after a win instead of typically heading to the locker room.
“It’s the character of the players,” Daigneault said. “These guys are big-time people, first and foremost. They come from big-time families. When you meet their circles, usually its their families, their parents, it makes a lot more sense. And that goes a long way because 82 (regular-season) games is a long time.
“There are a lot of bus rides. There are lot of ups and downs in that. The character of the person really matters. They’ve been an uncommon team relative to their age and I attribute a lot of it to that. Because they’re competitive, they’re like-minded and inside the team it builds momentum when they’re around each other. It’s a very strong locker room. It gets stronger when they’re together.”
Thunder guard Luguentz Dort, 26, said to Andscape: “Shout out to the older guys on our team [who] are very vocal. You got AC [Caruso], Hart [Hartenstein], you got Shai leading the guys, which is a good thing for us.”
AP Photo/Nate Billings
The Thunder had another opportunity to fall victim to their age in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals. After beating Denver on Sunday in the Western Conference semifinals, Oklahoma City was playing Minnesota after only one day of rest and preparation. Hartenstein, one of the vets at age 27, said the Thunder rested their bodies on Monday and prepared by watching film.
“I’ve seen it from Day 1 how mature everyone is on a day-to-day basis,” Hartenstein said. “How people take care of their bodies, how people prepare. You don’t see that a lot from guys that are 22, 23. I think that is what makes us special.”
The veteran Timberwolves had six days of rest entering Game 1 and lots of time for preparation. The Thunder also had to adapt from Denver playing lots of zone defense to the Timberwolves playing primarily man. Minnesota opened Game 1 with an 8-0 lead and were up 48-44 at halftime. Gilgeous-Alexander was held to 11 points on 2-of-13 shooting before the break.
“For us to play as poorly as we did offensively in the first half and be down four was a major victory for us at halftime,” Daigneault said.
But the Thunder used stingy defense, an awakened offense, points off turnovers and an inside presence from Holmgren in the third quarter for a 10-0 run to take a 66-60 lead. Oklahoma City never looked back during their playoff rout despite shooting a season-low 21 3-pointers. Gilgeous-Alexander led the way with 20 second-half points on 8-of-14 shooting.
“You can feel us getting better at it and that’s what it’s all about,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “That is what the first game of the season is about. That is what the playoffs is about. That is what the last game of the playoffs is about. Just continue to get better through the experiences and you’ll look up and be where you want to be. That’s all we can control.”
Time will tell if the Thunder have the talent to become an NBA champion for the first time as a franchise in Oklahoma City. But so far, age is nothing but a number.
“It’s too hard to celebrate until you get the whole job done,” Dort said. “That is just how I go about it. I’m never really satisfied. That is why I keep my poise, especially in games like that where there is a lot of energy. I try my best to do that.”
Said Hartenstein: “Yeah, we’re young. We’re a lot more mature than people know we are.”