Oklahoma City Thunder guard and reigning NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander “absolutely” wants his team to shoot for the single-season wins record of 73, held by the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors.
“Absolutely,” Gilgeous-Alexander told reporters (h/t ESPN’s Tim MacMahon) on Friday in Las Vegas, where the Thunder will play the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Cup semifinals. “Winning matters. And no matter what form it looks like to me. So absolutely.”
The 2015-16 Warriors won their first 24 games en route to a 73-9 season. They won the Western Conference but lost to LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in seven games in the NBA Finals.
This year’s Thunder team has also won 24 of its first 25 games. OKC won its first eight matchups before falling 121-119 to the Portland Trail Blazers. OKC has since won 16 straight games, including 13 by double-digits. The Thunder have outscored their opponents by 17.4 points per game.
OKC has a long way to go before challenging the 73-win mark, but right now, this team looks unbeatable. Gilgeous-Alexander plays a big part in that with 32.6 points, 6.5 assists and 4.6 rebounds per game. OKC’s tremendous depth (13 players average five or more points per game) and defense (No. 1 defensive rating) play key parts as well.
The Thunder will look to improve to 25-1 (and reach the NBA Cup finals for the second straight year) when they play the Spurs. Tipoff is set for 9 p.m. ET in T-Mobile Arena.
