OKC Thunder's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander More Than Ready for Second Round

The Thunder superstar shared how he and his team are staying motivated even with an extended break.

Apr 20, 2025; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) gestures after a play against the Memphis Grizzlies during the first quarter in Game 1 of the first round at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images | Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

The Oklahoma City Thunder received clarity when the No. 2 Houston Rockets forced a first-round Game 7 against the No. 7 Golden State Warriors on Friday night. It will play Game 1 of the second round against the No. 4 Denver Nuggets or No. 5 LA Clippers this Monday, May 5, at 8:30 p.m. CST, with Games 2-4 each coming two days after the prior contest.

Denver and LA battle for a winner-take-all chance to take on Oklahoma City tonight at 6:30 p.m. CST. Thunder All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander called the two possible opponents "really good" in Friday afternoon's practice media availability. He said the series has resulted in a 3-3 tie for a reason.

"We've seen both teams four times this year, so we've kinda got a pretty good feel for them," Gilgeous-Alexander said. "Know what they bring to the table, what challenges they present. ... It's just about us being ready for the challenge when the time comes."

This season, the Thunder went 2-2 with a +24 point differential against the Nuggets and 4-0 with a +39 point differential against the Clippers. In the 2025 playoffs, teams that won the regular season series against their opponent have gone 2-3 — but teams that finished with a higher point differential in the regular season series than their opponent have gone 5-1. The No. 3 Los Angeles Lakers and No. 6 Minnesota Timberwolves split the four-game regular season matchups, in addition to the Nuggets and Clippers.

Oklahoma City accumulated a +8.0 higher net rating than the No. 8 Memphis Grizzlies across the regular season, and would have a similar gap against the Clippers (+7.8) or Nuggets (+8.9). Teams with a higher regular-season net rating than their opponent have gone 5-1 so far.

Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 27.8 points on 52.1% true shooting, 6.0 assists, 5.0 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 1.0 blocks in Oklahoma City's first-round sweep of Memphis. He said he gets "excited for the games" this time of year.

"You want a break, but not too long of a break," Gilgeous-Alexander said. "But we don't play with games, so if we can get a team out of here in four (games), we get them out of here in four."

Even with eight days of rest between Oklahoma City's clincher in Memphis and second-round opener, the three-time All-Star does not think finding motivation is an issue.

"There's so much on the line. It's what you worked for all summer, all season," Gilgeous-Alexander said. "It's just about making sure you're in shape. You can do drills — Coach (Mark Daigneault) tries to make sure we get up and down a fair amount in practice just to make sure our conditioning stays."