The NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder say they can’t afford to look too far ahead or back as they chase the league’s first title repeat since 2018.
The Thunder, led by reigning NBA Most Valuable Player and Finals MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, are heavy favorites after powering to the top seed in the Western Conference and best record in the league at 64-18.
But the young squad that was touted as the league’s next dynasty as soon as they hoisted their first Larry O’Brien trophy insist they aren’t yet focused on pulling off the first back-to-back since the Golden State Warriors won in 2017 and 2018.
Gilgeous-Alexander said that’s “not much” of a motivating factor as the Thunder waited for their first-round opponent to emerge from the final play-in clash between Golden State and Phoenix on Friday.
“It’s cool, it’s an opportunity,” Gilgeous-Alexander said but added: “That’s so far down the line. So many things are gonna happen before we get to the Finals clinching game.
“To have the opportunity to repeat means you won before, so it’s cool. I’ll keep it there.”
The Thunder led the West all season, opening their campaign with a 24-1 start and closing it on a 19-3 run.
But they were challenged for the top seed by the San Antonio Spurs, who eventually settled for the number two spot but won four of five regular-season matchups to signal the threat they could pose in the playoffs.
The Thunder certainly have the advantage in experience, with all of their championship squad still on board.
Gilgeous-Alexander delivered another MVP-worthy campaign, finishing as the league’s second-leading scorer behind Luka Doncic with 31.1 points per game and putting together a record-breaking streak of 140 straight games of 20 points or more from November through the end of the regular season.
Center Chet Holmgren earned his first All-Star nod, averaging a career-high 17.1 points per game even as he stepped up his already formidable defensive presence.
Holmgren, who averaged 1.9 blocks per game, keys a dominant Thunder defense that allowed the second-fewest points this season and held opponents to the worst shooting percentage on average.
OKC proved themselves master disruptors, averaging 9.7 steals per game.
Holmgren was still feeling the effects of a broken pelvis suffered months earlier when the playoffs started last year and says he’s “extremely excited” to be entering the post-season feeling “really good.”
Like Gilgeous-Alexander, he’s keeping his focus on the moment.
“The goal is always to win the last game of the season,” Holmgren said. “You have to try to carry over the experiences that you learned from, but you can’t carry over the result …
“If you’re sitting here in the playoffs saying, ‘Oh, you know, we won last year’, that’s not gonna win you a playoff series or a game or get a stop on a possession.”
bb/rcw
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