There is history on the line for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as well as his team – if he can win a championship after winning the league MVP award and scoring title, he will join Shaquille O’Neal, Michael Jordan and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the only players to achieve that feat.
Playing in an NBA Finals Game 7 is a “blessing and an opportunity,” said the Oklahoma City Thunder star in a news conference on Saturday.
“It’s … like a dream come true,” he told reporters. “I try to look at it as a blessing and an opportunity. And then go out there and try to be the best version of myself, I think that’s what we have to do across the board. Don’t try and do anything spectacular, don’t try and do anything you haven’t done before.”
Although the Thunder spurned an opportunity to seal the championship in Game 6, this time they are on their home floor, an advantage that Gilgeous-Alexander highlighted.
“The crowd is amazing,” he said. “You’re ultimately in your complete comfort zone, the flow to the day doesn’t change, you’re in your own bed … you eat your pregame meals from your chef or whoever. It’s very comfortable … the crowd’s behind you, they give you energy whether you’re up or down.”
This is a Thunder team which has already experienced heartbreak in the NBA playoffs, succumbing to a shock defeat against the Dallas Mavericks in the Western Conference semifinals last year, though Gilgeous-Alexander said the team has “done a really good job of learning the lessons through its adversity.”
“I think that’s why we’ve gotten here because we’ve taken them and got better from them,” he said. “If we want to achieve our dream, we’ll have to continue to do the same thing.”
