On the night Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Oklahoma City Thunder to basketball’s biggest stage, he wasn’t chasing stats or headlines—he was chasing joy.
The kind of joy that looks a lot like a 15-year-old kid hooping with his best friends at an AAU tournament.
“This is just fun,” SGA said after dropping 34 points in a 124–94 Game 5 rout of the Minnesota Timberwolves to send the Thunder back to the NBA Finals for the first time in 13 years.
Gilgeous-Alexander also took home the Magic Johnson Western Conference Finals MVP award after averaging 31.4 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 5.2 assists throughout the five-game stretch.
With the win, he also became the first regular season MVP to reach the NBA Finals since Stephen Curry in 2016.
“I just wanted to make sure that, above all, I could give my energy and my effort to try to get these fans what they deserve,” Gilgeous-Alexander bared.
The Thunder jumped out to a commanding 26–9 lead after the first quarter and never looked back. They shot 52% from the field, went 14-of-35 (40%) from deep, and tallied 26 assists on 46 baskets made.
[ALSO READ: Thunder end 13-year NBA Finals drought with Game 5 masterclass vs Timberwolves]
“That’s what makes us really good—we have so much fun being out there together,” he added.
That joy now takes Oklahoma City back to a place it hasn’t been since 2012, when Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden made their lone Finals appearance together.
Now, it’s SGA’s turn to lead a new generation—alongside fellow young stars Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams—to the championship round.
Holmgren added 22 points and seven rebounds, while Williams finished with another all-around game of 19 markers, eight boards, and five assists.
Just a year ago, OKC notched the West top playoff seed — only to be bounced by a more experienced Dallas Mavericks squad in the semifinals. That loss became fuel as over the past 12 months, the Thunder hasn’t just grown—they’ve exploded.
Oklahoma City won a league-best 68 games, swept Memphis in the opening round, and showed their mettle by outlasting the Nikola Jokic and the veteran Denver Nuggets in seven games.
[ALSO READ: Thunder oust Nuggets with dominant Game 7 performance]
Now, after dismantling Anthony Edwards and the Timberwolves in five games, the Thunder moved four wins away from their first title in franchise history.
“We just played the next possession and did a great job to stack them up. The mental toughness by the team was great,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault told reporters.
Daigneault also credited Oklahoma City’s fan base for helping power the team through its rapid rise.
“This is an unbelievable fan base. It’s an unbelievable community. The support, the encouragement through the ups and downs, really puts the wind in our back,” he said.
Shoutout to the best fans in the league 💙
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) May 29, 2025
The Thunder now await the winner of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Indiana Pacers and the New York Knicks. Game 1 of the NBA Finals tips off Friday (PH time), June 6.
Regardless of the opponent, Oklahoma City enters the Finals as the heavy favorite to win it all.
“We’re not done,” SGA insisted. “Not even close.”
