The Oklahoma City Thunder were eliminated by the San Antonio Spurs while playing at home in Game 7 of the NBA Western Conference Finals, where they were fighting for that back-to-back, but the great game by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was not enough, and they were also without their second option, Jalen Williams.
With Jalen Williams surviving in only one full game of the Thunder’s seven-game series, due to a recurring left hamstring injury, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander highlighted the void left in Jalen Williams’ absence during the Thunder’s exit interviews on Sunday.
“Not having Dub for the whole year, basically, sucked. He’s just such a unicorn out there,” Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said. “He’s a 20-point-per-game scorer, guards 1 through 5. Last season, he got All-NBA for offense, All-NBA for defense, and was an All-Star all in the same season at maybe 24 years old. Losing a guy like that just hurts. He’s just uber talented. Having that Swiss Army Knife 24/7 is a luxury. We just didn’t have that luxury this time, and sometimes it just goes like that.”
The differential numbers during the matchup
Without Jalen Williams, the Spurs put the defensive clamps on All-Star Chet Holmgren, challenging the rest of the Thunder starters to rise to the occasion as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s 35 points were met with Cason Wallace’s 17 points against a Spurs offense where seven players scored in double digits. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Cason Wallace were the only Thunder starters who scored in double figures.
Jalen Williams #8 of the Oklahoma City Thunder.
On the side of the winners, and with plenty of reasons and arguments, Victor Wembanyama’s 22 points led San Antonio. Julian Champagnie finished with 22 points, and point guard Stephon Castle added 16 points.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander admits Spurs have what it takes to beat NY Knicks in 2026 NBA Finals
Shai recognizes it was a failure
Despite another MVP season and another deep playoff run, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was not interested in celebrating individual accomplishments after the loss. During Oklahoma City’s exit interviews, the two-time MVP delivered a brutally honest assessment of his season.
“It was a failure. I failed at my goal. I didn’t achieve what I wanted to achieve. But in my experience, I learn the most about myself and make the biggest improvements in my career when I fail at a goal and don’t get what I want. I look at this no differently. I didn’t get where I wanted to go this season. There’s a reason for that.”
“Now I have to identify that reason and make sure it never happens again.” It is a mindset that helps explain why Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has become one of the NBA’s elite superstars. Individually, there was almost nothing left for him to accomplish this season.
