Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's blunt take on NBA status after Celtics takedown

01/06/2025 12:10 PM

After Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder's 105-92 win against the Boston Celtics, a reporter asked the All-Star guard about his status in the NBA. After Gilgeous-Alexander's honest take on beating Celtics, he didn't take the bait in revealing where he ranks himself among the best players in the association.

Instead, Gilgeous-Alexander delivered the apparent response in an exchange with the Oklahoman's Joel Lorenzi, per Daily Thunder's Brandon Rahbar.

"Where do you think you stand, league-wide?" Gilgeous-Alexander replied, "Yeah, I'm pretty good at basketball."

Joel Lorenzi: "Where do you think you stand, league wide?"

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: "Yeah, I'm pretty good at basketball."

Jalen Williams: " "

(@jxlorenzi) pic.twitter.com/OR4YfYB3c9

— Brandon Rahbar (@BrandonRahbar) January 6, 2025

Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder rarely engage in narratives when comparing themselves to other players or teams. They often let others talk while focusing on themselves to improve constantly. Amid a historic franchise record 15-game winning streak, Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault downplayed beating the champion Celtics.

After informing reporters that facing the Celtics was a great opportunity but still one of the Thunder's 82 games in 2024-25, Daigneault stuck with the same mindset after the Thunder's 13-point win.

"It's one of 82, like I told you before the game. Every game's a different challenge. We're all running our own race. We happen to be bumping against them," Daignealut said. "We'll go our separate ways. So will they… the reason we're in the position we are right now is because we've improved, and we've had our heads down and been very present in competition, and if we want to continue to improve, that's what we have to continue to do."

Gilgeous-Alexander's honest admission on Thunder beating Celtics

Thunder All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander doesn't consider a win against the Celtics as a significant accomplishment but says it's a victory that exemplifies his team's growth.

"It's not that significant in the grand scheme of things. It's one game," Gilgeous-Alexander said. "Now, we got better tonight. And that's what we're after every day. So, it's significant in that way. But it doesn't hold any weight. Game's over. We'll learn our lessons. But we did good tonight."

Thunder forward Jalen Williams says measuring themselves against the defending champions is relevant for a team that is continuing to improve.

"It's good to go against teams like that," Williams said. "Obviously, given that they just won. But at the same time, it's a game in January. We're just trying to get better. It is good to play teams like that. [Then], we play Cleveland where we can kind of test where we need to be at."

Asked Shai Gilgeous-Alexander & Jalen Williams about the significance of the #Thunder erasing a double-digit deficit to beat the champion #Celtics 105-92:

SGA: "We got better tonight. That's what we're after every day"

JDUB: "We're just trying to get better" pic.twitter.com/KAOMtkSVju

— Josue Pavón (@Joe_Sway) January 6, 2025

The Thunder can extend their winning streak to 16 against the Cavs on Tuesday night.

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