By the time the NBA Finals tip off on Friday (PH time), most players will be neck-deep in film sessions, dissecting scouting reports, and seeking mental clarity amid the growing outside noise.
But for reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the best way to focus is to unplug entirely.
“I completely plug out,” the Thunder star said during media day ahead of Oklahoma City’s NBA Finals opener against the Indiana Pacers.
“I turn my TV off so there’s no basketball highlights going. I don’t watch basketball. I just spend time with my family, my friends. I try to remove myself completely from basketball,” he continued.
It’s an approach that may sound unorthodox in the pressure cooker of the Finals, but for the 26-year-old Canadian guard, it’s his key to staying sharp.
“When it’s time to plug back into it, I’m eager,” he said. “Like I missed it.”
SGA’s “reset” routine is rooted in balance, not avoidance—mirroring the Thunder’s own blend of youthful energy and unwavering poise.
Now in its first Finals appearance in 13 years, Oklahoma City is leaning on that same mental clarity as it prepares to chase the franchise’s first NBA championship.
“Staying true to who we are is the reason we’re here. We’d be doing ourselves a disservice if we changed or tried to be something we’re not. It’s organic. It’s nothing we have to think about or force. It just is,” Gilgeous-Alexander noted.
Staying true to us, no matter the moment 🤝 pic.twitter.com/cR3JrjKFSx
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) June 4, 2025
That identity — calm, confident, and collective — starts with SGA but echoed throughout the OKC locker room.
“We enjoy coming to work every day,” head coach Mark Daigneault, the 2024 NBA Coach of the Year, told reporters.
He continued: “That’s how our facility is, whether it’s the Finals or just a Tuesday. We have to stay true to who we are in this whole experience.”
Oklahoma City swept the regular-season series against Indiana, winning both games by a combined 27 points.
But the Finals bring a different stage, a different pressure — one this group insists it’s ready for.
“You get everybody’s best shot in the playoffs. That’s the way you want it to be,” OKC big man Chet Holmgren reminded.
Holmgren will be making his Finals debut after he missed three months of regular season play due to a hip fracture. The no. 2 pick of the 2022 Draft returned in February and quickly reasserted himself as a cornerstone of the Thunder’s 68-win campaign.
“Everybody is a winner until it’s inconvenient for them. I feel like we have a team with 17 winners that are going to put winning at the top of the totem pole over anything else,” the seven-footer said.
The biggest thing: playing for each other ??
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) June 4, 2025
Much like Holmgren, Jalen Williams will also get a taste of his first NBA Finals experience.
And much like fellow All-Star in SGA, Williams leans heavily into the mental side of the game — embracing visualization, meditation, and the inner work that fuels his growth, especially on the defensive end.
“Defense is a mentality. Regardless of who you’re guarding, if you go out there and compete, you can be pretty good defensively,” Williams noted.
That mentality will be tested against the Pacers, who come in with the league’s top-rated offense and fastest pace. But Daigneault said the formula for defending them hasn’t changed — just the stakes.
“The fundamentals aren’t complicated. We’re not inventing anything this week. Their attack is simple. The theoretical way to stop it is simple. But executing it — that’s the hard part,” the 40-year-old head tactician bared.
Only time will tell as the series unfolds, but Daigneault offered a fitting analogy.
“It’s like facing a 99-mile-an-hour fastball. You know it’s coming, but good luck hitting it,” he added.
