Story & Photos
By Michael Kinney
OKLAHOMA CITY– Shai Gilgeous-Alexander knows what everyone is saying. Oklahoma City’s All-Star guard and MVP candidate from a year ago has heard the analysts and fans say this is the year of the Thunder.
While that type of league-wide sentiment carries a ton of weight, Gilgeous-Alexander seems bound and determined to not let the burden of expectations overshadow the process and the fun.
“It’s sure fun. At the end of the day, we all are playing a game to win, win basketball games. The more you do so, the more fun you have playing it,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “I think that’s what kind of turned around for us last year. We are not trying to replicate it. We’re trying to be better. I think as long as we stay on course and we do what got us here, we’ll be just fine. I think we’re more worried about that than the expectations or what we’re supposed to be or not supposed to be. Just making sure we stay true to who we are in this process.”
Gilgeous-Alexander and the rest of the Oklahoma City Thunder kicked off the 2024 NBA training camp Monday with Media Day. One of the most prevalent questions that arise throughout the day at the Paycom Center centered on dealing with the high expectations surrounding the franchise and its core of young players.
“There’s always pressure to go out and win because we have amazing fans that spend their hard-earned money to come watch us play, and they’re not coming to watch us play to go out there and put up duds or suck,” said Chet Holmgren. “So, it’s on us to really go out there and give it our all to try and win these games. We’re never going out there trying to lose. We’re trying to win games. That’s what makes it tricky because you have to be real careful with expectations. Especially when you attach them to outcomes. If you put expectations super high and you are just short of it, you might think that you weren’t successful. If you put expectations super low and you are just above it, you might think you’re really successful. You have to be careful with expectations put on outcomes. Around here we emphasize putting expectations on processes, how we show up every day, how we go about our work, what we do, and the attention to detail that we do it to. That’s what we’re really focused on.”
Thunder General Manager Sam Presti set the tone for this type of thinking during his State of the Franchise press conference last week. He used the author Robert Caro’s saying “You have to turn every page” to describe Oklahoma City’s process heading into 2024.
“We have to understand and go through every iteration to ensure that we’re not shutting off potential pathways that could really help us or get us to another level, whether it’s now or in the future,” Presti said. “That’s helped us find competitive advantages in the past, whether it’s lineup constructions, end-of-game situations, player development pathways, player combinations, schematics, thematics.
“I think by turning every page, you give yourself every opportunity.”
The Thunder will head into the next season with essentially the same core of players they ended last season with. Along with Gilgeous-Alexander and Holmgren, Jalen and Jaylin Williams, Isaiah Joe, Lu Dort, Cason Wallace and Aaron Wiggins are all back in the Thunder blue.
They will be joined by the 2024 draft and a pair of new faces that were picked up in offseason trades. They include Isaiah Hartenstein and Alex Caruso.
This is Caruso’s second time with the Thunder. Presti admitted the team dropped the ball when they let him go early in his career.
“I don’t remind him of that. It might have worked out for the best because it allowed me to move on and grow in ways that maybe I wasn’t able to or wouldn’t have been able to if I was here,” Caruso said. “Definitely you brought me back, so I won’t give him any stick for that. I was able to grow and get to a place where I am now and come back. I’m better than I was when we were here the first time, so I’m excited to see what’s next.”
The Thunder preseason kicks into gear Oct. 7 when they host the San Antonio Spurs. Game time is set for 7 p.m. at the Paycom Center.
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