One for all, all for one may be the mantra of The Three Musketeers, but over the last several seasons it has seemingly been adopted by the OKC Thunder.
Even outside of their own core trio of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren, and Jalen Williams, the entirety of this 15-man roster has the drive and overall determination to fight for the player standing beside them.
This has been well understood by the majority of Oklahoma City's faithful followers, and, now in 2024-25, it appears those on the outskirts of the fanbase are starting to notice the unique, close-knit bond Mark Daigneault's squad has with one another.
In fact, just recently during a mid-game discussion in Sunday's home opener against the Atlanta Hawks on NBA TV, former NBA Coach of the Year and current pundit, Sam Mitchell went as far as to anoint them as "the most cohesive group I have ever seen."
Thunder branded as 'most cohesive group' former coach has ever seen
"Think about today's NBA with all the money that's out there and all these young guys getting paid. For a team to be that close with no jealousy... When they do an interview after the game it's the whole team out there on the floor and at first when you see that you think 'Ok, this is going to wear off.' This is three years in a row they've been doing that," Mitchell said.
A quick look back at what @luthebeast had to say after the @okcthunder’s impressive 4th quarter surge to beat the Hawks in the home opener: pic.twitter.com/VwSeevW5Tt
— Nick Gallo (@NickAGallo) October 28, 2024
Mitchell would continue on with his assessment of the enviably close bond this Thunder team clearly has with one another by specifically praising cornerstone Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, as he suggested that this whole squad mentality trickles down from his involvement in these on-court team shenanigans and his willingness to involve his running mates.
"When your superstar who's the MVP candidate, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the centerpiece of all that and everybody's around him like he's the pied piper... This guy sets the tone: No attitude, no ego, it's just about everybody on this team but me. That's why I picked OKC to be in the Finals this year," Mitchell said of SGA.
Perhaps the reason for Gilgeous-Alexander heavily encouraging his teammates to be involved in his and the rest of the core's activities is because of the fact that his rise to stardom was faster than many others and, thus, may still handle himself as a mere budding stud.
Only within the last three years has the Thunder guard truly established himself as a bonafide star in this league, as he's been selected to two consecutive All-Star and All-NBA teams while averaging 30.7 points, 5.8 assists, 5.2 rebounds, 1.8 steals, and just shy of a block on 52.3 percent shooting from the field and 35.0 percent shooting from deep.
He was also the runner-up in last season's MVP race, a finish that had many claiming he was an arguable snub.
However, before these few seasons, Gilgeous-Alexander was seen as a relative unknown -- a former late lottery pick who displayed high-end, two-way potential but was being waited upon to piece all his skills together on a regular basis.
Now, though he may have the in-game persona of a legitimate superstar as he makes his way through year seven, it seems evident that his mindset has yet to catch up to the ego that generally comes with such a status which, in turn, has seemingly impacted the rest of his squad and teammates.