Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Calls Out Thunder's Critics in IG Photo After NBA Finals Win

Three days after his team won the NBA Finals, Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander released a poem on Instagram addressing the 2024-25 champions' critics.

I spent the last few days thinking and while I reflected,
I accepted,
that half of the opinions on our trajectory were rooted in resentment.
It was in front of your face all year,
But you chose to neglect it.
The more milestones we reached,
The more people disrespected.
They tried to say we were too young,
Hating on how we were connected.
Predicted our downfall every step of the way
& when we succeeded they acted like it was expected.
We ignored the noise,
They said i was being nonchalant bc I never would address it,
Why would I shed light on rage bait and misdirection?
I’d rather be the reason that you stand corrected.
Staring at the Larry O.,
my only competition is the man in the reflection..

Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder dominated the competition in 2024-25, winning an NBA-high 68 regular-season games before defeating the Memphis Grizzlies, Denver Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves and Indiana Pacers in the postseason en route to the franchise's first title since the team moved from Seattle to OKC in 2008. Along the way, SGA won the regular-season MVP and NBA Finals MVP awards.

The Thunder impressively ascended to the NBA mountaintop after breaking the team down and building it back up. OKC went 24-58 in 2021-22 but improved to 40-42, then 57-25 and finally 68-14.

The Thunder stockpiled young talent along the way around Gilgeous-Alexander, who arrived in town via the Paul George trade with the Los Angeles Clippers in 2019. The team is still young, with key players including 23-year-old Chet Holmgren, 21-year-old Cason Wallace and 23-year-old Jalen Williams.

SGA is only 26 himself, and he headlines a team in which no player has played more than eight NBA seasons. Alex Caruso and Kenrich Williams, both of whom were born in 1994, are the only two players older than 27 years of age.

The age and relative inexperience didn't matter, ultimately, as the team weathered some postseason storms (e.g., tough seven-game series wins over Denver in the Western Conference semifinals and Indiana in the NBA Finals) to win the championship.

Now OKC looks like a potential dynasty in the making with the reigning NBA MVP flanked by an excellent supporting cast that could be a perennial championship contender for the foreseeable future.