The Oklahoma City Thunder are in a position after the All-Star break they have not been in for quite some time. They are second in the Western Conference if you didn’t know already by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander‘s weekly Instagram caption, and they have an All-Star starter. And, there is even a conversation league-wide that SGA could even win the MVP award, which a Thunder player hasn’t done since Russell Westbrook in 2016.
While the NBA All-Star Game is nowhere near what it used to be, as players just do not care to put in the effort anymore, it was still fun to see so many players from the Oklahoma City Thunder representing all weekend long. They had five players there participating this weekend. Of course, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was an All-Star. Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams, and Cason Wallace were all in the Rising Stars Game. Then Keyontae Johnson was in the G League Next-Up Game.
Oklahoma City Thunder’s Successful All-Star
The Thunder are on the rise. Sure, this very well may be a year where they exit the postseason early; however, they are still young. This is the second-youngest team in the NBA. Somehow, they have five guys at All-Star weekend. The players know how special the team is and what they are set up for.
“It’s amazing. It’s a good feeling to see the thing develop not only for myself but for my peers and guys,” Gilgeous-Alexander said during the All-Star weekend when asked about having five teammates participating. “I’m around all the time, and guys are like brothers to me. We’ve just got to try to keep pushing forward.”
It was fun watching Gilgeous-Alexander play in the All-Star Game as he put on a show. He finished with 31 points, six assists, and four rebounds. Had Karl-Anthony Towns not scored 50 points, SGA would have had the best game on the West side. Gilgeous-Alexander also had himself a highlight play – a self-oop off of the backboard in traffic, which he attributes to Holmgren.
“Yes, he does,” Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said to the All-Star media. “Every since Chet did it, everyone else followed. And I don’t know where that came from. I don’t. Mine was better than Chet’s, though. Mine was in traffic, too.”
Thunder Ahead of Schedule
As young as they are, the Thunder have a lot figured out already. You don’t get to have the team accomplishments this team has while being one of the youngest teams in the league, on accident. They have worked to be where they are now, and it’s paying off in massive ways. It wouldn’t surprise me if they ended up having two players in the All-Star Game next season. They could add Jalen Williams or Chet Holmgren to the list.
Now that the break is over, they will get right back to work. Outside of the Gordon Hayward trade, they didn’t do anything crazy at the deadline. With a hopefully clean injury report this week and a good break from what was a gruesome January, things should be trending in the right direction. The Thunder are set up for the future, but they must first finish this season and continue to prove everyone wrong.
