Amid the Oklahoma City Thunder’s 12-game winning streak, head coach Mark Daigneault shed light on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s ascension to becoming an MVP candidate. Gilgeous-Alexander’s impact is two-fold as the team’s leading scorer, coupled with his exceptional defense. Daigneault says his effort is contagious amongst the Thunder guards such as Lu Dort, Cason Wallace, and others.
After the Thunder extended their winning streak to a dozen games with a 113-105 win against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Daigneault discussed Gilgeous-Alexander’s commitment to getting the best from himself and his teammates.
“They’re committed to the invisible things that help the team win,” Daigneault said. “Ball pressure doesn’t get you a lot of attention, and so many of those things on that end of the floor are subtle. And you’re only committed to them if you’re committed to team success, and we have a group of guys that are committed to that. As a result of that, there’s a contagiousness around that. They feed off each other.”
Gilgeous-Alexander continues to grow as the team’s leader. Cohesion-minded team leaders surround him, which has resulted in the Thunder leading the Western Conference with a 27-5 record, 5.0 games ahead of the Memphis Grizzlies.
“We always talk about the leader is the person doing the right thing; he absolutely [does that],” Daigneault added. “Great poise. Great internal confidence. There’s a contagiousness to both of those things and the team. But Cason Wallace is a second-year player, and with the look on his face and the way he competes, you’ll never know the score of a game. He’s the same guy. Dort is the same guy. Kenrich Williams goes into the game; same guy.
“Isaiah Joe, we outscored them by 20 points, I think, tonight in 12 minutes. And he will not bat an eye at that. He’s the same guy, and that’s top to bottom. So, I understand Shai is a great player, and I think he’s growing into a great leader. But the leader’s the person doing the right thing, and that comes top to bottom on the roster. And that has a compounding effect. It has a contagious effect.”
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After losing to the Thunder, Timberwolves All-Star Anthony Edwards named Shai Gilgeous-Alexander MVP of the season. After the game, Thunder coach Mark Daigneault talked about Gilgeous-Alexander’s gradual improvement on and off the floor.
“All of his improvement has been gradual, consistent, and compounding in nature,” Daigneault said. “So, it’s never an epiphany moment. He just grows consistently in every part of his game and his life, and you’re referring to leadership; he’s grown as a leader consistently in time.”
Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder will look to extend their winning streak to 13 against the Clippers on Thursday.
