The lack of faith that the Oklahoma City Thunder has had to endure has left many beyond baffled. Despite finishing the regular season as the best seed in the Western Conference, Mark Daigneault’s boys aren’t considered as one of the favorites to reach the NBA Finals. Even with Zion Williamson out of the New Orleans Pelicans’ lineup, a majority of the basketball community believes that the young Thunder side could be eliminated in just the first round. But, Shaquille O’Neal came to their defense, backing Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and co. to have a postseason that proves everyone wrong.
The Thunder’s 124-92 Game 2 victory was impressive, to say the least. After a mere two-point win in the opening encounter of the series, tonight’s performance was far more motivating for every fan of the franchise. The win apparently motivated Shaquille O’Neal too, as he showered the second-youngest squad in the league with some lofty praise.
“They are together. They fight for each other, they play a certain way… The way they play, I think they’re going to be in the Western Conference Finals… Their team is very, very complete… They’re team is very, very complete. Listen, their 1-2 punch, MVP in Shai, Chet. But Jalen Williams, I like that kid. He plays the right way, Giddey plays the right way,” Shaq said.
The Thunder, despite their inexperience, do have a great shot at advancing to the Western Conference Finals. Leading the Louisiana side 2-0, they will be hoping to close out the series within the next two games. And behind the play of their best play, this team could very well do it.
Shaq referring to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as “MVP” doesn’t come as a surprise. Throughout the season, the TNT analyst has been lauding the scoring guard. O’Neal first made his love for Shai public by selecting the latter over Luka Doncic as the better player.
Several months later, during the final stage of the regular season, the Hall-Of-Famer spoke about Shai’s MVP case. After shedding light on the All-Star’s 50th 30-point game of the season, Shaq also admitted that the OKC’s record was good enough for the 25-year-old to win his first Michael Jordan Trophy [The MVP award].
“The MVP is SGA…And he meets my criteria…He’s the baddest player in the game and their team is 49-21,” O’Neal said.
Gilgeous-Alexander has well-deservingly gotten a nod as one of the three MVP finalists. As great a campaign as he’s had, he never was at the top-most position of the MVP Ladder. According to the general consensus, Nikola Jokic will be set to receive the 2024 MVP honor.
Shai will feel snubbed if he doesn’t end up being the MVP. But, knowing the type of competitor that he is, someone else receiving the MVP award will only fuel him to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to lift the 2024 NBA championship.
