Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Has Blunt Message for Thunder After Third Loss to Spurs

The Thunder have five losses this season, three of them to the Spurs.

Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder were defeated by the Spurs on Christmas Day. / Rob Gray-Imagn Images

In a Christmas Day surprise, the Oklahoma City Thunder found a stocking full of coal hanging over the fireplace in the form of a 117-102 loss to the Spurs. Not only was the defeat the Thunder's third of the season to San Antonio, but it was also the second straight loss to the Spurs, who handed Oklahoma City consecutive losses by 15-plus points for the first time since the 2021-22 season, according to ESPN Insights.

And in the eyes of the team's best player and leader Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the big takeaway from Thursday's loss—and the team’s three losses to the Spurs as a whole on the year—was simple.

“We have to get better as a group,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “You don't lose to a team three times in a row in a short span without them being better than you. So we have to get better. We have to look in the mirror. And that's everybody. From top to bottom. If we want to reach our ultimate goal.”

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: “We have to get better as group. You don’t lose to a team three times in a row in a short span without them being better than you.

We have to get better. Look in the mirror, and that’s everybody from top to bottom, if we want to reach our ultimate goal” pic.twitter.com/g6tBBqGhOZ

— Josue Pavón (@Joe_Sway) December 25, 2025

The Thunder, who were in the same class as the 1995-96 Bulls and 2015-16 Warriors to start the season, are an astonishing 26-2 against the rest of the NBA, but 0-3 vs. San Antonio. The Thunder are fresh off winning a championship while setting the record for scoring differential and are currently on-pace to break their own record in the latter category, having defeated teams by an average of 14.9 points this season.

So if it seems extreme to suggest that the Thunder need to get better, it speaks to just how well the Spurs have played them.

In all three Spurs-Thunder matchups, San Antonio's stifling defense has held the league's top-scoring offense to 110 points or fewer. That’s no easy feat, considering it has happened just four other times this season. Offensively, San Antonio has gotten whatever it has wanted against the league's best defense, raining down 16 three-pointers on the Thunder defense in Tuesday's win, then feasting on the inside to the tune of 52 points in the paint on Christmas Day. Perhaps most alarming of all is the fact that San Antonio has accomplished all this with its best player, Victor Wembanyama, on a minutes restriction in his return from a left calf strain, though he has made his presence felt even in limited minutes, as Thunder star Jalen Williams noted after Thursday's loss.

“They're just a good basketball team,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “They know how to play. They have talent. They play the right way. They play together. When you mix those things together—for any basketball team—you win games. And whether you make shots or miss shots, you win games. And obviously tonight, they shot the ball well. They've beaten us three times in a row, so you can't use that as an excuse.

“They've been better than us three times now. So we gotta look in the mirror and figure it out.”

The Thunder and Spurs meet two more times in the regular season, with the next matchup coming on Jan. 13.

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