“I Don’t Watch Basketball”: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Explains How He Adjusts His Mentality Off The Court

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander explains to Jared McCain how he adjusts his headspace while he's on and off the court.

4 Min Read

Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

The OKC Thunder are heading to the NBA Finals for the first time in 13 years, and the credit goes mainly to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for staying true to his MVP status even in the Playoffs. He won the Michael Jordan Regular Season MVP award and also the Magic Johnson Western Conference Finals MVP Award to lead the Thunder to the NBA Finals. 

Adjusting between life on and off the court is something that every basketball player faces at some point. Gilgeous-Alexander spoke to the media going into Game 1 of the NBA Finals. Jared McCain, the former Duke star who is a rookie for the 76ers, was also present at the press conference. As the NBA media correspondent, he asked Gilgeous-Alexander how he manages to adjust his mentality in high-pressure situations and how he decompresses off the court. 

“Honestly, I completely plug out. I turn my TV off so there’s no basketball highlights going on, I don’t watch basketball. I just spend time with my family and my friends and I try to completely remove myself from basketball, because it consumes so much of my life in my day. And then when it’s time to plug back into it, I’m eager to get back into it like I missed it. So yeah, I just try to find a balance of plugging in and out of it.”

Having a private life as a celebrity basketball player is already very tough. Managing to stay away from all forms of media to completely block out basketball seems like a mammoth task in today’s age. But Gilgeous-Alexander manages to focus on what’s more important and lock back into his game mode at the right time.


What Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Thinks Of Pacers

Before Game 1 of the NBA Finals, Gilgeous-Alexander sat down with Malika Andrews of ESPN for an interview. In the interview, he revealed his true feelings about the Pacers to Andrews. Andrews asks him if he’s as shocked to see the Pacers’ success in historically unlikely moments.

“Yes, absolutely. Like watching them, honestly, it’s– they’re super fun.”

“They play a certain way and they don’t budge no matter what’s going on, and I respect that completely. They have an identity, they have a formula, and no matter who they play, what the stage is, what arena it is like, they’re going to impose that on their opponent. And that’s why they’ve been really good, like they’ve been every series turns into their series, it looks like. And they attack and they go after what they want, and I think that’s why they’ve been really good, and it’s been fun to watch, it’s fun.”

Gilgeous-Alexander has averaged 29.8 points, 6.9 assists, and 5.7 rebounds in 16 games played so far in the 2025 playoffs. He is the favorite to win the Finals MVP award if the Thunder win this series. Will he be able to lead the OKC Thunder to their first-ever NBA championship? Let us know what you think in the comments section.

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Chaitanya Dadhwal is an NBA Analyst and Columnist at Fadeaway World from New Delhi, India. He fell in love with basketball in 2018 after seeing James Harden in his prime. He joined the sports journalism world in 2021, one year before finishing his law school in 2022. He attended Jindal Global Law School in Sonipat, India, where his favorite subject was also Sports Law.He transitioned from law to journalism after realizing his true passion for sports and basketball in particular. Even though his journalism is driven by his desire to understand both sides of an argument and give a neutral perspective, he openly admits he is biased towards the Houston Rockets and Arsenal. But that intersection of in-depth analysis and passion helps him simplify the fine print and complex language for his readers.His goal in life is to open his own sports management agency one day and represent athletes. He wants to ensure he can help bridge the gap in equal opportunity for athletes across various sports and different genders playing the same sport.
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