Shai Gilgeous-Alexander drops personal take on state of Thunder team

The OKC Thunder may have found their 2023-24 campaign come to a premature end Saturday night via a Game 6 elimination against the Dallas Mavericks in the Western Conference Semifinals, but this should not take away from what truly was a magical run for this young and promising squad.

Not since the Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook era has Oklahoma City been this exciting to watch, as they managed to embark on their first deep postseason run since the 2015-16 campaign.

Fortunately for fans both near and far, it seems as though this level of success is only bound to improve as the years move along, for the majority of this team's core is signed on through at least 2026, and, according to superstar guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the team as a whole couldn't be happier, as he noted during his exit interview that he feels this Thunder team is the closest group he's ever been apart of.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander praises 'togetherness' of OKC Thunder

"You can feel the togetherness of this group...It feels like it’s unusual period. I’ve never been this close to a basketball team in my life. Maybe my AAU team."

- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

Throughout the year, there always seemed to be a strong sense of camaraderie and closeness among this Thunder team, as they couldn't seem to take part in postgame on-court interviews without a group of players swarming around one another.

Surely, it's their youthfulness as a collective that has helped bond them all together, though, luckily, it has not seemed to keep them from coming across ample success Despite their limited experience in the association, they still managed to claim the top seed in the Western Conference in historic fashion this year.

At an average age of just 23.4, over the next several years this ball club is only bound to grow closer to one another and, hopefully, far more succesful along the way.