OKC Thunder Full Media Availability | Post Game at Toronto Raptors | March 22, 2024

OKC Thunder Full Media Availability | Post Game at Toronto Raptors | March 22, 2024

Shay uh you guys seem to be able to respond to every one of their runs tonight um even though you know it wasn’t a perfect 48 minutes did you like uh as Mark would say like the perfect way you seem to get the car on the road every time

Um yeah we uh we did enough to win um we weren’t like you said it wasn’t a perfect game we weren’t the best versions of ourselves tonight um we’re going to look in the mirror and try to figure out how we can be that more often

But um you can’t take a win for granted and we did enough tonight to win um by a pretty good margin we’re Greatful yeah the defense really can we get you closer to the m please uh the defense really spurred a lot of it 27 turnovers that you forced

Um how are you guys kind of like making that a catalyst for yourselves that the turnovers um to get that energy sparked yeah we always have um it’s been us all season um it’s been how we are the best versions of ourselves and tonight they gave us a big enough

Lead uh but yeah that’s just part of our identity at this point and what we try to implement into the game every night sorry Chad has 10 dunks over the last two games Mark has credited that a lot to the teams playing up with their bigs how are you guys exploiting that

And and getting him so many Free Runs yeah um the last two nights teams have been high in the pick and roll coverage um but Chad has been amazing in the pocket um so skilled um and and it’s just an example of a team throwing something at us um

And us being able to attack it uh we have we have a lot of guys on the team that can do so many things that it makes it easy to adjust on the Fly and do K was telling Nick post game that this group keeps him joyful there’s like a

Youthful energy tour that just keeps him joyful and I asked him about what it was that that you know keep that feeling alive and he was just saying that that’s kind of the the environment that’s been fostered since he’s gotten here and he says that you know there’s an energy

That you exude that you know guys that kind of followed your lead um just do you can you point to the feeling he maybe describing like the envir that kri oh um yeah I just uh I don’t know I just try to be authentic to myself um and how I lead

And how I interact with the guys um but there’s no forc to it it’s just me on a on a basketball team with a bunch of guys that I get along with um that are really good guys um at the end of the day want to prove themselves in

NBA and win games um and we have those things in common um and we click because of you mentioned authenticity in that but but K said that you know when he first got here your leadership then looked different than it does now just can you point to a moment where maybe

You had to Grapple to authenticity to change it but the moment maybe where your leadership changed form the way it looks um uh I don’t I don’t know k k rich I would just say just a maturity um as a like a a human and a and a

Basketball player um K Rich maybe got here three years ago um and I’m a a completely different player and person from who I was back then uh so that’s probably the growth last thing for me you just mentioned that a lot of it has to do with

Authenticity I imagine that um as this team comes more to like as you as a player want like there are a bunch of people who who don’t know what authent authenticity means to you like what does what does that mean for you what does that look like

Um I’m a pretty easygoing guy um I get competitive on the court but besides that I’m easygo um chill uh don’t really do too much like to have fun she wasn’t mean you to come back here and play in this city yeah it’s always fun uh grew up coming to games here um

Watching Chris Bosch and bunch of NBA legends playing this building uh it’s it’s always a surreal moment um and en time my friends and family in the crowd is more special Mar is obiously happen right now a time with you guys summer to get all discussion on his archetyp play in

That NBA what were your impression on him of basket that sort of his arch yeah um Zach uh he he he’ll figure his way out um he’s big he’s smart he um he he soaks things up quick um and like he’s he’s a humble kid and

Wants to be really good um that’s that’s what I got from him this Summer besides obviously the eye popping stats and skill and stuff like that um so I think he’ll figure it out and as far as his architect the last two MVPs have been

Big guys so he’ll be just fine sh uh yeah I uh obviously there is there is still a long way for it but if Jamal Mari played uh play the Olympics uh and what you guys what of you you played on the Flor at the same time what do you

Think that what do you think that both of you should adjust to to all to to each other to play together on the on the floor um yeah I don’t think it’ll be any different from me playing with the guys I played with this summer Dylan a bunch

Of guys I’ve never played with before it’ll just be us trying to do what we do best and impact the game in that way um and being selfish in doing so seemed like you guys continue to just manufacture answers to those um how did you do that throughout the course of the

Night uh just continue to stay steady uh you know uh it’s an NBA game with NBA players uh you know they’re out there for a reason uh you know they have uh all the motivation in the world to go out there and do what they do so you

Know we knew they were going to bring it tonight so we had to do the same and um you know credit to them they put together runs and we were able to just uh together a few more than them we talked after the last game about moving

Up a little to the m can hear me gotcha that better that’s all right all right all right uh we talked last game about the five dunks you had and teams are going to play up like that you had five I think in the first quarter first

Half uh tonight uh what’s been key to just kind of working through that and and getting so many of those good Rowling opportunities to the rim uh I mean it just comes down to how team uh play me if they’re going to put uh smaller guys on me especially switching

And stuff uh whether it’s rolling and catching in the pocket or catching lobs or you know getting on the glass whatever it might be uh you know I’m going to try and take what the game gives me and uh you know when teams go small that’s what that’s what it gives

Me so uh you know just trying to play hard out there and uh you know make winning plays no matter what fashion they they are I wanted to ask you also about kenrich he did didn’t play last game but massive impact efficient effective Force steals all those things

Yeah Kenny hustle uh you know the ultimate Pro ultimate competitor uh you know he’s ready whenever his name’s called and you know he’s going to continue to do that for us which is Big um you know everybody on the team is that way too uh uh you know sometimes

You never know when you’re going to be needed when your name’s going to be called and uh you know everybody does a great job of staying ready um and uh you know credit to him tonight cuz he was huge made a lot of big plays for us so

Last year when you were working with the team but not playing had a lot of opportunity to see Shay kind as a fan I guess um what’s been the difference in your experience playing with them versus you know what you saw last year which when he was obviously pretty good to

Watch too yeah yeah uh I mean it’s a lot more fun being out there playing with him uh you know but it doesn’t change what he’s doing uh you know a lot of credit to him he’s a hell of a player and he works really hard at it uh uh

Nothing that he’s doing is a surprise to me and uh you know I look forward to playing with him hopefully for a long time a high turnover generating Team all year but this is the second most that you guys have forced All Season 27 uh

What was the the key on that end of the floor and and making sure you guys kind of won that battle against team uh we was trying to find some some energy somewhere I felt like we had a slow start shot wasn’t really falling and uh

We just had to find a way to to to get going so I feel like just uh us you know being a little more aggressive defensively trying to get Steals and to run the floor it helped us and the game seemed to kind of Swing on you flipping

The fast break uh aspect they had a bunch of Fast Break points in the first quarter you guys really flipped that the rest of the game why was why is that such a big deal against this team yeah I mean they’re I don’t know I think they

Top five in transition they really run the floor uh well and um you know that was a big emphasiz for us to to nonl and do that so so you know they did good at this it’s obviously it’s going to happen in the game but we was trying everything

To stop it you know you’re on the road up 20 tell me about kind of the concentration level that it takes in that second half to just withstand any runs that come your way and seal it yeah just to keep playing together I mean you know it’s it’s it’s easy to drive away

From from uh our style of play whenever we up big on especially on the road so you know we just had to stay together and that’s what we did I also want to ask you about kenrich you he didn’t play last game but he’s already primed the opportunity and is really productive and

Efficient tonight yeah I mean k rich is always ready and I you know we all been seeing this since since he’s been with us since he’s been on U the past couple years so you know every time he get he gets his number call you always know

What you goingon to get out of him and you know he he always going to go out there compete and play hard and you know that’s what he did tonight Lou you had a uh a video honoring your commitment to Team Canada and the success of the World Cup that

Was shown on the Jumbotron how does that that mean how much does that mean to you to have that kind of recognition here in Toronto uh feel honored honestly um you know just the the experience of putting that Jo young was was amazing and and I’m have memories of my whole life and

You know I’m really grateful to be able to represent my country you know to to to a big stage like that so to get recognized here in Toronto it was a that was great yeah Yeah last last summer with Canada you were a huge part of of uh of especially the the defensive consistency of of the team in the world cup uh what to tell you the the most from from Jordy in terms of coaching uh in in the in the defensive end in particular yeah he’s

He’s really intense I mean J is a coach guy that’s going to really get us going and before the game the way we practiced the way we we approached going against those type of team and and he knew the defensive talent that we had on the team

As well as so you know it was it was just great the way that he just hyped us up got us ready and to go out there and compete was was was insane and and and Jord is a guy is a coach with a lot of

Emotion he’s really loud and he has a lot of energy so it was great to to just the way he was getting us ready for those type of games March manness obvious happen right now um you play with Zack the national team want to know your impressions on him there’s a lot of

Conversations on if he his archetype can play in the league just from what’s your take on that and what were your impressions on that I mean he’s he’s a legend over there I seen already retired his jersey that’s that’s crazy and I’m happy for him and um I mean Zach is this

Big dude man he going he going to do his thing and you know he’s so tall and you know that that that can reflect to the NBA there there’s so much that he can do and he he’s actually strong too so you know I’m I’m rooting for him you know

Hopefully they win the the championship and all that and I can’t wait to see him next year in the league orang put what can you tell me about Charles I know he’s developed lot of guys who work closely with you Miller what was a coach

Char was was a a great coach for me and he he really helped me off the court especially you know uh going to my senior year that was my last that was my last year and then it was you know struggling a little bit off the court

And on the school sides and he did a lot of stuff to help me you know graduating and all that so you know I’m always have love for him really able to flip the terms of this game in terms of the Fast Break scoring uh what did you notice in

That regard and and how that maybe changed the course of the game yeah I thought the uh group to start the second quarter uh really amped the game up physically on the defensive end uh we strung to together a lot of stops at the beginning of that period get ourselves

Lead get ourselves out on the Break um and just good recognition in the game that we needed to kind of amp up our physicality our communication and I thought that stuff improved in that part of the game and allowed us to get a little bit of a grasp on it you know

Obviously there were abs and flows to this one but it seemed like you guys did you manufacture an answer every time they made a charge at you what you think just from a big picture standpoint about the skill of being able to do that and

And get the car back on the road as you said yeah we didn’t we didn’t stay there uh the whole 48 minutes tonight uh so it wasn’t our best like 48 minute effort in totality but the good news is when we needed to respond we were tapping into the right stuff which was

Defense physicality effort um and we did that multiple times in the game to extend some leads uh including that last group in the last you know six seven minutes of the game I thought they did a great job sorry just I just wanted to uh ask you about kenri you know he doesn’t

Play last game and here he is uh primed ready efficient and really productive and was in Memphis too you know he’s the the two games he’s played out of the last three uh he’s given us great stuff you know those small units um have been really effective with him all season and

Really dating back to last season that continues to be the case um he’s had great energy I was playing 11 sometimes 12 uh for periods of time and guys were getting like shorter uh bursts to so um you know gave him a night off the other

Night did the same thing with Jay will tonight that’s something we’ll continue to take a look at uh if we think it’s best uh just to give guys a little bit of a longer run but you he did a great job tonight he was huge for us Mark just

You mentioned that group to start a second to kind of turn the tie of shorts what role did did Jaylen Williams play and all that and just what does he meant in that kind of role in terms of you know speeding up pace just being that kind of Energizer yeah I mean he’s

Obviously taken a huge step as a Creator uh especially in that unit to start the second to start the fourth that’s been the case all year um the thing that makes him you know really effective is what he does defensively you know in that unit as well it just gives you so

Much flexibility as to who you put there out there on the court with him because not only can he create and kind of run that thing uh with the ball in his hands but he also can take on a primary matchup uh at the same time on the

Defensive end of the floor and you know like I said it just unlocks uh the lineup versatility that we can build around that you talked about big picture but more specifically how do you feel the team has responded in games like this as rare as they are where um you

Know almost everybody loads up against you guys but it it feels like Toronto now both times you played them has more specifically tried to take away Shay like how do you feel that the team has you know rallied in games like that where you know Shan his decision making

Per usual might be limited in a case like this yeah I thought um you know there were some plays that first of all I thought our cutting and movement off the ball tonight was pretty good you know we’ve talked about trying to tap back into that that it’s slid a little

Bit and the last couple games that’s been much better um and I thought it was pretty good again tonight I thought some of our plays were just like sloppy you know turnovers which is not really characteristic of us um usually we’re a little tighter than that so I’m not

Going to overreact to that I thought some of them on some of those plays we were just like well intentioned but a little loose and uh you know have to be a little bit better um so it certainly wasn’t like our sharpest night but uh I thought for the most part the intentions

Were good anybody else go ahead special night for come back here what did you make of his his performance and sort of the way he kind of reacts to this environment yeah um I didn’t think you know it wasn’t his best game of the season and he would probably

Admit to that um but I always respect when he comes here you know he’s not trying to like play outside of himself in any way I think back to mcalla hit a three-year a couple years ago to win the game for us it was a great game and um

You know Shay’s got the ball I I was so impressed by that he’s got the ball um we’re losing the game he’s in his hometown ball’s in his hands he penetrates Ates collapses the defense and he passes you know in in a situation where he could have forced a shot up uh

And tried to you know write the ending to the story so to speak um and he’s just got you know really good perspective as a competitor and I thought he had that again tonight talking about Shay as a competitor he’s he’s the leader of this John team how

Important do you think that he his influence is with the J players the team yeah anytime a guy has the the level of status that he does um especially among his peer group you know he’s he’s a younger player still um and he’s got unbelievable status obviously in the

League uh but he he you know channels that for good inside of the team you know he’s he’s there’s a contagiousness to him that he reinvests back into the team you know I mean he doesn’t he doesn’t take that and and withdraw it you know he he takes that and he puts it

Back into the team and it it compounds and um he’s a great investor anybody else Mark now that you mention it the two years ago where where Mike hit the the three that’s a game that you side is like the the night that teams really started to to double shave

And really realize his you know incoming start him like how often do you think about that game as you watch him like how often do those pictures maybe flood back to even maybe when you step inside this building um I mean I have a lot of

Memories of the team and and there’s a lot of games that taught us lessons I mean that game the what you’re referencing was more of a coaching lesson is like you know we had a lead and and uh they were really aggressive to try to get back into the game they

Were double teaming like crazy and we just were disorganized and uh had to put ourselves in a better position in those situations um and I think we’ve evolved since then in terms of being able to organize in those parts of the game when you’re milking a lead um on the road

Team starts getting aggressive with you you know having built-in spacing having built in answers for that uh we’ve gotten a lot better at that as a program um starting with me but uh it started that night because we were so skittish and and frantic

Hear from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren, Lu Dort, and Head Coach Mark Daigneault following the Thunder’s 123 – 103 win over the Raptors.

0:00 Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
6:00 Chet Holmgren
8:41 Lu Dort
13:38 Coach Daigneault

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