Over the past year, the OKC Thunder has seen Shai Gilgeous-Alexander blossom into a superstar. It wasn’t, but 14 months ago everyone was wondering if Gilgeous-Alexander could be a number one option in the NBA.
Fast forward to the present day, the Oklahoma City Thunder had a surprise season a year ago, recording 40 wins, making the Play-In tournament and losing just one game out of the playoffs. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander became a superstar, averaging over 30 points per game, making the All-NBA first team and finishing fifth in MVP voting.
Along the way, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander discovered a new shtick, an Instagram caption for each Thunder win, mixed with beats generally related to that night’s game and opponent. Before this week, the biggest controversy surrounding these lightweight legends was whether the OKC Thunder star invented them himself.
According to NBA champion Andre Iguodala, the OKC Thunder could have awakened the Golden State Warriors.
Over the weekend, the OKC Thunder earned a baseball-style sweep against the Golden State Warriors. This two-game streak ended in a thrilling overtime victory after the Thunder were down by 18 points.
In this competition, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander absolutely took over, dropping 40 points. Along with dynamic play from rookie big man Chet Holmgren, clutch buckets from Jalen Williams and Isaiah Joe going 7-of-7 from beyond the arc, it was an emotional victory for this young Thunder team.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s new victory post on Instagram pic.twitter.com/Mt36lQNHKu
-Rylan Stiles (@Rylan_Stiles) November 19, 2023
Even though the legend of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander wasn’t that harmful, the NBA world exploded as they slipped into the post to see plenty of highlights of the OKC Thunder star getting the better of Steph Curry.
This caused fans, ESPN and your grandmother to take note and overanalyze the same shtick that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been doing for two seasons now. However, almost a week later, NBA Finals MVP and Warriors legend Andre Iguodala weighed in on the post.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s Instagram caption after the Warriors game has been a hot topic for a week now, this time by Finals MVP Andre Iguodala in the latest episode of his podcast. pic.twitter.com/oyQ9mxna9K
-Rylan Stiles (@Rylan_Stiles) November 22, 2023
On his podcast with Evan Turner, point forward Andre Iguodala says Steph Curry’s dim-witted Instagram post could wake up the Dynastic Warriors, who are off to a slow start like they were a season ago.
While no one should really believe that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was going for the all-time mark, it was just a coincidence: Many of his highlights in that game were against Curry; Iguodala would know better than anyone what motivates the Warriors.
The OKC Thunder are no longer expected to face the Golden State Warriors this season. However, the NBA will release two more games once the dust settles on the In-Season tournament pool games.
The Golden State Warriors are in the running to be one of the OKC Thunder’s opponents in these two extra games in December.
