OKLAHOMA CITY — After beating the Memphis Grizzlies 125-104, All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder made franchise history by securing their 61st win. However, for Gilgeous-Alexander, the endgame of winning an NBA championship eclipses the significance of becoming the franchise’s most winningest team.

After the win, Gilgeous-Alexander downplayed the importance of setting a new regular-season record.

“It’s cool, but it doesn’t mean much. My ultimate goal, our team’s ultimate goal, is not to set franchise records in wins. It’s to hoist a trophy at the end of the season, and that’s what we’re after.” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “So, it’s cool, but it doesn’t fill our cup.”

For Gilgeous-Alexander, earning 61 wins in 73 tries is proof of a talented group. However, it doesn’t bring the Thunder closer to winning a title.

“Nothing that we didn’t already know. We know we’re a good basketball team, and we’ve done a really good job of staying the course this year,” Gilgeous-Alexander added. “We look up and we’re getting things done because we take it day by day, and that’s just what that is. That’s what the testament is.”

Still, sending a message to a team like the Grizzlies, tied with the Los Angeles Lakers for fourth place in the Western Conference standings, is necessary when sitting atop with a 61-12 record.

“The things that we’re after, you don’t let a team be more motivated than you come in here, and walk all over you if you want to win a championship, and that’s what we’re after,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “What it takes to win a championship, we want to walk in and embody every day, and I think that’s why we’ve had success so far, because we try to take those steps towards that direction.”

After Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault commended his second unit’s production in Tuesday’s 121-105 win against the Sacramento Kings, his Thunder starters, including Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, used a whopping 15-0 run to seal their 61st win of the season.

Daigneault reacted to the Thunder making franchise history for the most wins in a regular season.

“It’s just a special group of players that operate in a special way. They deserve special things to happen for them,” Daigneault said. “There [are] obviously more opportunities ahead of us. But the best thing about them is how they do it. The professionalism, the character, the connectedness; they play the way you want a team to operate. And they deserve everything that they earn.”

The Thunder extended their winning streak to eight.