Shai Gilgeous-Alexander continues to say all the right things

The Oklahoma City Thunder fanbase has spent the better part of two years fighting off opposing fanbases, mainly the team up north, with their awful Shai Gilgeous-Alexander takes. Asking the OKC Thunder to “free” the 24-year-old point guard due to just a two-year playoff drought.

This just continued the lazy national trend that sparked an outrageous narrative that the Oklahoma City Thunder are “the black eye of the league” and “egregiously tanking” and my personal favorite “Sam Presti cares more about future first-round picks than he does winning basketball games to save his job.” which is void of all facts.

The bottom line is, the OKC Thunder have never finished with a bottom-three record, they have played in the postseason more recently than Seven of the 30 NBA franchises, Sam Presti is the most sought-after general manager in the sport and has a lifetime worth of respect in Bricktown. OKC is not who the media should point their arrows to at any process in this rebuild, and it is already backfiring.

So despite the lazy conversations around this Oklahoma City Thunder team, and specifically their superstar in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander who the National Media and fans have been trying to encourage to request a trade since before the ink dried on his max contract, everything is coming up Thunder.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander continues to say all the right things about the Oklahoma City Thunder and this rebuild

The OKC Thunder have been in lockstep with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander throughout this entire process and the soon-to-be first-time All-Star guard has praised Sam Presti’s transparency for why it is easy to have patience with the franchise.

On Thursday night in Philadelphia, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander told reporters “I think we’re going to be a really good team a lot sooner than people think, so I think it’s pretty easy for me [to be patient].” adding “I see the growth every day, I see the growth in the last five months, year, two years, and I’m super excited about it.”

Add this to the pile of great quotes from SGA about his future with the OKC Thunder, and a way for Thunder fans to combat these lazy takes and demands from other fanbases and the National Media.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander even elaborated by saying “Sam Presti talked to us and he used this word that really hit home — Catalyst, that is the perfect word to describe the opportunity I have. I have the opportunity to really build something and be at the forefront of it. That’s something I know and embrace every day and maximize it for sure.”

It is obvious Gilgeous-Alexander is aware of the unique position he is in, and seemingly truly cares about it. He has the chance to be one of 30. There are only 30 NBA franchises to be the face of, and he is the face of the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Thunder are clearly on an upward trajectory, the team on a three-game winning streak that places them tied for the NBA Play-In tournament this season, and an even brighter future with Chet Holmgren being added into the fold next season along with the backcourt tandem of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Josh Giddey taking off.