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.”
Jared McCain: “What do you do on the mental side to stay prepared?”
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: “Honestly, I completely plug out. I turn my TV off so there’s no basketball going. I don’t watch basketball. I spend time with family, friends, and I try to completely remove myself from… pic.twitter.com/ycSHQhDnjv
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) June 4, 2025
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.
