LAS VEGAS — All Shai Gilgeous-Alexander did last season was lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to the NBA title, win a scoring crown, earn the league’s MVP award for his regular-season dominance and cap it all off by winning NBA Finals MVP.
Only one thing was missing.
Silly as it might sound for a team that went 68-14 in the 2024-25 regular season before winning the league crown and is off to a record-tying 24-1 start this fall — only a 121-119 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Nov. 5 has kept them from 25-0 — the NBA Cup is very much a motivator for the Thunder.
They played in the in-season tournament’s championship game last December and lost. They’re back in Las Vegas for the NBA Cup semifinals this season, knowing the trophy that got away last season is just two wins away.
“It would be phenomenal,” said Gilgeous-Alexander, whose Thunder are a staggering 88-17, including playoffs, since losing last season’s NBA Cup final to the Milwaukee Bucks.