Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added to his trophy case on Wednesday night, but he is still far from satisfied.
Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder advanced to the NBA Finals with a 124-94 victory in Game 5 of their Western Conference Finals series vs. the Minnesota Timberwolves. It was another efficient scoring effort for Gilgeous-Alexander, who finished with 34 points on 14/25 shooting to pair with seven rebounds and eight assists to pace the Thunder.
After the final buzzer, Oklahoma City received their Western Conference title trophy. Gilgeous-Alexander was interviewed by ESPN’s Lisa Salters and made sure to stress that the work was not close to finished.
“This is a step in the right direction, but we have a lot more work to do,” said Gilgeous-Alexander. “We know that, and that’s what we’re focused on.”
Gilgeous-Alexander then closed things out with a six-word message — “Let’s buckle up and get ready.”
During the ceremony, Gilgeous-Alexander was also named Western Conference Finals MVP. It was a clean sweep for Gilgeous-Alexander, who received all nine votes for the award from a media panel.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander received all nine votes from a media panel covering the Western Conference Finals.
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) May 29, 2025
The voting panel pic.twitter.com/7NxUwl9uE6
Gilgeous-Alexander was recently named NBA MVP as well after leading the league with 32.7 points per game and spearheading a 68-win regular season for the Thunder. But that is exactly the kind of attitude that the 26-year-old star needs to have, especially since Gilgeous-Alexander still has a lot of doubters who question his style of play.
The Thunder, who are in the NBA Finals for the first time since 2012, now get over a week off before the Finals begin on June 5. They will play the winner of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Indiana Pacers and the New York Knicks (which the Pacers currently lead 3-1 heading into Thursday’s Game 5 in New York).
