Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams reflect on the nerves, resolve, and team-first mentality that fueled the Thunder’s Game 7 win and trip to the Western Conference Finals.

Sunday, May 18th 2025, 7:22 pm

By: Jeremie Poplin

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“I was nervous, to be honest, just knowing what's on the line. We've worked so hard the whole 82-game season. We've all worked so hard in the summer, and to know like if you don't bring your A-game, it could all be over with — all for nothing. But I think that nervousness like motivated me and helped me play today, like helped me give my all both ends of the floor. And I used it to my advantage.”

“Yeah, it means a lot, specifically for the city. They've been so good all year. They've been behind us through good, through bad. It feels like no team in the league has home court advantage like we do. And that's all due to them — with the T-shirts, the cheering, the screaming, the chants. They really give us energy out there, and we've been a better team because of them.

And to know that if we didn't bring it tonight, it could be over for them as well — it wasn't fair. And we wanted to play for them as well.”

“Yeah, I think like the nerves were natural. We obviously didn't shoot — we actually shot horrible to start the game — but I knew we were getting really good looks, and if we just stuck with it that we would loosen up and the ball would find the basket. And it did.

So I never was worried by the way we started. We had the right intentions. We had to tighten up a little bit on the defensive end. But once I felt the flow of the game and we had the right intentions and the right energy, I knew it would turn around for us.”

“Yeah, he's a player who rises to the occasion. He's a player that understands the moment and controls what he can control — and he does that at a very high level. Nobody does that at a higher level than him that I've ever played with.

Like he is always in the moment. He's always figuring out how to change the game and better the team. And it doesn't matter if it's a Tuesday in February in New Orleans or if it's a Game 7 tonight — like he's giving us 100% attention, energy. And I think that's what's made him the NBA player he's become.

And to have a guy like that on your team — it's special. It raises the level of everybody else when you see him just leading like that in that example. He's obviously a big reason why we're as good as we are as a basketball team.”

“Messed up a little bit. But yeah, I was just excited to play. You never know how many Game 7s you're going to get. And it's like an opportunity to be great.

So I was just more excited about playing and getting the opportunity. I think I was probably just like hyped up to play and excited. That's really it. You know, those nights, it's hard to kind of like go to sleep.”

“Terrible. (laughs) Nah, he was amazing. That was a big reason for our like little stretch of the lead in the second quarter — gave us momentum.

What I said just out there after the game — like, his growth as a basketball player has been — obviously, like you've seen it all year — but his growth mentally has been more impressive to me. He wouldn't have played the way he played today last year. And I know that 100%.

And to see him take that step forward is a really proud moment for me. Just knowing what he goes through on a day-to-day basis, knowing where he comes from — like that's really my brother. And to see him get better in those areas is special, it's fun, and it makes this whole experience a little bit more special.

But yeah, other than that, Dub’s a great basketball player. And he brought his s*** when we needed it the most. And that’s what makes you the top of Epsilon — upper Epsilon — of this league. And sky’s the limit for Dub, as we all know.”

“We were really good and we were able to get out in transition — and that's given us layups. And I think that's where a lot of the points in the paint come from. And then that gives you flow going into half-court offense.

And I think that's kind of where we got our confidence from — just trusting each other, trusting our process.”

“Yeah, that's when we're at our best. Starts defensively, and then we're able to play in space with the athletes and the speed that we have.

But it starts defensively, and once we brought that tonight, we were able to stretch a little.”

“That's how we play. I think I’ve said this earlier this year too, just on different things. Our defense is not predicated on us stealing the ball, you know what I mean?

But it's just more about the approach that we have — how competitive and how right we can be, and how many rotations we can make. You know what I mean? We're trying to be as aggressive as possible and cover up for each other. And then if that results in a turnover, great. But we're just trying to contest every shot, rebound every time, and you just kind of stack within our defensive possessions. And that's what makes us good.”

“No, I turned my phone off. I just wanted to, as best as I could, block out all the noise. Just enjoy the time — we had two days off for the first time in a little bit. Enjoy the time with my family.

I knew this moment was coming, and the nerves sat in my stomach for the two days. But I tried to just think about it as least as possible. And I think I did a pretty good job handling that.”

“When you say turn it off — you mean do not disturb and like maybe your mom?”

“Yeah, no social media basically. And then if you have my number, you can text me.”

“I think exactly that — like we are where our feet are. Like being present in the moment, not letting too many outside things control what we're doing in the game.

And I think that was most impressive. Everybody, no matter what was going on, we stuck together and we were just kind of uncommon in that way. Like we even had a team dinner after a loss. I think that just shows how connected we've been — and we've been doing that the whole time.

So we're just with each other regardless of what happens. I think that's what makes us a good team.”