OKC Thunder Full Media Availability | Post Game at Washington Wizards | January 8, 2024

OKC Thunder Full Media Availability | Post Game at Washington Wizards | January 8, 2024

Obviously had it going offensively tonight they had it going offensively tonight just kind of hung around throughout the entire game just what did it take effort wise for you guys to just walk away with this and kind of keep them at Arms Reach yeah we had to um

String together possessions you know we had to stay together as a team cuz like you said they were making shots but we had to you know hone in on the defense and you know go runs offensively ourself um yeah I know defensive energy and efforts was a huge emphasis for you guys

Coming into this game how big of a test was their Pace in this game and and making sure that you guys had that defensive energy tonight yeah I mean I think that was uh that’s what helped them stay in the game we knew coming into this game that they were going to

You know push the tempo get out on transition uh we tried to make it as Scrappy as we could uh go out there just be aggressive you know stay stay true to the game plan um and just leave it out there on the court 37 assists for you

Guys tonight I mean the ball was really moving just what’s it like out there when when the ball just is is hitting hands like the way it was tonight yeah I’m always say when uh when you have that many assists it’s cuz the ball is hopping the ball has energy um and when

Everybody gets the feel for the game um we’re really tough to guard uh so I think we just got to continue in the future to just keep the ball moving um try to reach for these you know highest this games because we tend to do really

Really good and tend to win those games whenever we do so just you know try to be consistent with that I Mark mentioned that you know no two games are the same uh and so looking at this past week obviously the effort is there tonight but some of the common denominators have

Been you know teams making threes this week or teams getting to the freak thr line so I guess from your point of view like what is attributed to you know teams getting those looks teams making it to the line uh I mean you know a lot

Of that is you know the players but at the end of the day um the other team all everybody can play um so we just have to be able to adjust on the fly when it gets to those moments but you know we can’t you know we won’t take any win for

Granted because you know any win is a good win but at the end of the day you know those players out there are great players and they know how to play and so we just have to learn to adjust yeah you had those two late threes in the four

Quarter that felt pivotal di in the game I wonder now because you you’ve had games where you’ve closed games or played long stretches down the stretch for as a guy who you know Philly didn’t bring back like what’s it feel like to to have this level of trust and

Opportunity from organization I mean it’s great just being out there you know trying to help the team win any way possible um I think we have a great group of guys all the way down the bench that can do the exact same thing be you know impactful in games like that you

Know down the stretch and so just being out there you know leaving everything out on the line just trying to get the win at all cost I say there was a a big play where Chad posted up on the left side and flung it all the way across Court to you

For a catch and shoot three we see him you know facing the basket so often uh how much of a luxury is it to have a a young big like this be able to go post up and and make a crosscourt play like that in addition of all the other stuff

He can do right know that was a that was a hell of a pass for sure um but just somebody he he just has so much gravity uh I think when he’s down there he’s he’s a monster and um can’t stop him so you know you have to send bodies and you

Know we’re going to try our best to find open open spots on the perimeter fine cuts um and J just made he made a really good pass on that play when he drew all those um Defenders anybody else last one last one go ahead we we talk about you as a

Movement shooter all the time just the way you are able to move off the ball but I I wonder what it feels like just playing with know we mentioned Chad’s passing he’s he’s growing in that area you saw dub gets in assist tonight obviously is a relatively talented

Pastor I wonder what it’s like being able to play with that guy that side of you you know you moving around and getting free say that one more time yeah just what’s it like playing with you know Tal pass those three and yeah I mean at the

End of the day when you have guys that just draw so much attention and can get to the lane at will um I think the defense just kind of has to pick their poison and they can either let them take their man oneon-one or my man or

Somebody else will end up helping him we get a open shot on the perimeter I think we just we compliment each other very well in that aspect and so just continue to build off that it’s going to be great for us Thunder uh Jaylen just the concentration

That you guys had to have tonight given how Relentless Washington was uh what did you notice from your group in terms of being able to keep the pedal down uh for 48 minutes and not give up that lead that you’ve been staing on uh down the

Stretch we still play with each other um we were still able moving the ball I think we had a we had a season high and assist I think so just trusting each other down the stretch uh defensively I thought we were able to string along you know some crucial

Stops and I think that kind of helped us maintain the lead and then we did a good job managing the clock uh not giving them a lot of time to kind of have her abuttal to some of our buckets and ultimately I kind of won the game you’ve developed these types of relationships

Across seasons and you know and within games sometimes they fluctuate but tonight it seemed like you and and Aaron were just totally on a string um what uh what was working with that connection tonight why do you think that that pairing really uh was fruitful um I

Think just the action that we’re in uh is typically around the same every game it just kind of depends on who it is uh wigs um has a really good nose for the ball and knows where I like to be at on the court um and he’s really smart so

He’s kind of able to find different holes and um you know knock down shots that way and you know he’s a really good finisher as well so when he kind of gets around the rim I I kind of trust him to make a play and uh it just so happened

That within our offense it was him a couple times but I think everybody understands the same time it could be anybody in those positions too now now that we’re talking about WS I do Wonder because this role has fluctuated time this year obviously that’s going to come some Mar ration

Some that is you know January is a a crazy month but I do wonder what you’ve seen from him this year and just how valuable it’s been when when he slips in on whatever might be uh he’s super consistent um he knows what the team

Needs and he’s able to plug in and do that uh which is probably the hardest role in the NBA you know you you not really know when your your time is coming but you know constantly being ready and you know he’s a true professional when it comes to that so um

It’s always fun to kind of take the floor with him you know he makes very the little like no mistakes play plays hard every night um no matter what his minutes are um yeah just super solid all the way around so it’s really easy to

Kind of play off him and and be on the court with him M and we’ve talked about you know just your role to to start the second quarter to start the fourth quarter you kind of made it your playground almost and especially in that second quarter you know you’re throwing

No looks to wig you’re throwing you know snap ear passes you do the the hook pass live to check like would you say this is as comfortable as you’ve been as a passer in the league um yeah I’m just in those positions more and more I think a

Lot of is just figuring out your teammates like you know the more reps you have with certain players and just roles Within the game and you know NBA season is so long like you’re going to play with especially how we sub we’re going to play with everybody on the

Floor so I think just understanding my team and get more comfortable with them allows me to you know do stuff like that and like for me basketball that’s just how I play so it’s fun to be able to do that so I think I’m just getting more and more comfortable with my teammates

Rather than you know per se like me getting comfortable actually playing so with the the level of Freedom Market has given you to become that level of Creator and whatnot have you felt this sort of responsibility to become that degree of facilitator or even better um I’m just kind of taking whatever the

Defense gives me uh yeah just kind of reading the game a lot of times it’s it’s really just uh what my teammates are doing and reacting off of them um you know they trust me to make the right play I’m just kind of going out there

Reading the floor but I think just Mark and the coach of Staff giving me those reps and allowing me to kind of go out there in play knowing that you know they’ll allow me to make mistakes and learn from it so I think it’s just more

Of like a confidence thing and like I said before you know like when I’m out there with my teammates they kind of trust me to move the ball and kind of look for my own shot and just kind of the way we play fast and free flowing

Like I’m able to kind of get a lot of it within the action I just wanted to go back to the fact you guys had 37 assists tonight I mean the ball was just really moving offensively when when you’re out there when you’re within the flow of the

Offense just what’s that like when the ball is moving the way it was tonight uh it’s fun everybody gets a touch so I think you know there’s a lot of people that want to probably play with within that offense um you know it makes it easier

For guys to you know get open shots and create for themselves you know uh stretches the floor out just the way that we’re able to move the ball everybody’s playing really unselfish right now as well um which is good cuz you know we dropped uh two games that we

Felt like we could have won so I think for us to have this game and not you know part ways with each other but rather you know move the ball and come out the way we did I think that that kind of speaks volumes to our team so we

Kind of know what it takes to win and you just talked about learning your teammates a little bit more and more we were just talking to Mark about you know Chad being able to find that that trail look tonight and he said you know he’s just such a unique player he’s a role

Threat a pop threat what goes into you know learning a teammate like Chad who’s so unique um I think some of it is just letting him kind of figure it out for himself and you know us being willing to kind of give him those reps I think he’s

In the same situation that I was last year but further along um just in regards you know Mark allows us to kind of go out there and just play and figure out what kind of player we are and what we’re comfortable with with and you know

He’s he’s finding that out very fast how many you have 30 32 so he’s having you know he’s taking good shots he understands like where he’s going to be at a lot of times in the game and then um yeah so he’s special you know he’s

Able to kind of stretch the floor for us and he understands that that’ll help him also find a lot of his stuff too what was Washington doing right kind of made you guys tough to get some separation M shots um that’s you know that’s just part of the road trip playing people at

Home um you know you’re never going to shut anybody out they hit some tough ones down this stretch too so again you got to just kind of tip your hat to those but I think we got some crucial stops a couple in a row and then we were kind of

Able to stretch that lead to about 10 and and um you know the way we were scoring and sharing the ball I think we were able to kind of hold it there Chad they were just kind of hanging around the entire night you know just kind of

Hanging in there with their offense what did it take for you guys down the stretch just keep keep them at Arms Reach and walk away with this one uh it took us playing together and having focus on both ends of the floor um and I feel like we did a good job of

That uh you know we needed uh big plays on offense uh different guys stepped up and when we needed to make plays on defense uh we did that as a team um obviously there’s a lot of area for improvement on both sides but um you

Know you can’t take a win for granted in the NBA 37 assists for you guys tonight the ball was just moving all over the floor just what’s it like when when you’re out there and you feel kind of that energy offensively uh it it’s huge knowing that the

Uh uh the ball is going to come to you when you’re open um you know the ball has energy and uh when it’s moving like that and especially when when we’re getting shots to go down um you know it’s great uh it picks up the energy on

On uh defense as well and it helps us set our defense you know when you make shots uh you know it it keeps the other team somewhat out of transition obviously they play fast so they were trying to get in transition position anyways but uh you know making shots

Definitely helps uh with with our defense as well do talks a lot about you never really stepping outside yourself outside the role in terms of your shot selection but know in Atlanta you I think you had 12 points on on nine Shots tonight you

Have 31 on on 14 do you kind of see that as a a double edge sword just kind of your demeanor in the way you play or or how do you view you know what it what it produces um I’m just trying to go out there and make winning plays uh you know

My focus is on on winning games it’s not on how many shots I get tonight or um you know whether or not I got a certain number of shots uh you know it’s just going out making winning plays and and Some Nights the the game’s going to give

Me more shots than uh other nights but at the end of the day I have to go out there and be aggressive and and um you know ready to make plays whether that’s shooting the ball passing the ball um you know whatever it might be obviously

They found you a ton on the trail tonight um and Mark has said in the past week at least I believe the past week that he seen you hesitate Less on not only some of those Trail shots but just in general when they swinging to you have have you sense more comfortability

As the season’s going on just in terms of hesitation at all anything like that uh yeah I mean um you know I just had to kind of understand how long NBA season is I had a few game stretch where I wasn’t really making anything and then

Um you know feel like that was in my head a little bit and then I just had to understand that um you know like I was putting pressure on myself like I got to make it every shot you know I feel like you know as a

Perfectionist um in a way um I had to kind of get over that and understand that the game’s not perfect and um you know by being ready and and um just confident to shoot the ball you know you’re going to shoot the ball better so

I’ve just been doing um my best to to do that yeah I’m curious because you you mentioned being in your head about certain shots about just that General thought process is that weird you now because I mean obviously I I doubt you maybe had that problem before the league

Like that whole thing new to you is that weird at all um I’ve always been somebody who’s uh been I guess you could say a perfectionist uh and you know I’m I’ve always been a winner um you know so it hasn’t been like you know uh I want to shoot this

Shot what even if it’s not a winning shot type of like I’m not that type of guy so um you know it’s not about what kinds of shots I’m taking or um how I get to them um it’s it’s just about trying to make winning plays Chad you

Had that uh postup crosscourt kickout to Isaiah for three tonight um how much fun is it for you to kind of invert you we see you face up so often and um be on the perimeter how fun is that for you to invert things like that and kind of be

The quarterback from that position um it’s always great again just taking what the game’s given me uh you know when other teams uh put Smalls on me you know I have to um be able to play to my advantages which is my height at times um and if they’re going to have

Somebody uh you know help there’s going to be somebody open somewhere on the floor so I was just waiting for one of our guys to cut and then either the cutter was going to be open or Isaiah was going to be open based on uh who

Picked up uh the movement and uh it was Isaiah so I found him and you know we all know what Isaiah does so you know I know if I find him um not only are we getting three points um but you know that’s a great play for our team the way

That you guys move off the ball it’s like you got four wide receivers who you’re trying to figure out what route they’re going how what was that what’s that process been like for you picking out um the right pass and knowing where guys are going to be uh it’s great

Um you know we all have extreme confidence in each other to make plays and um you know we have a really good locker room full of winners um so everybody’s trying to make the right play out there and um still be aggressive within that um there there is

A kind of Tipping Point where you’re trying to make too many right plays I guess and you’re not out there um you know playing with Force um and I feel like we’re doing a good job right now of balancing those two things as a team Mark talks about those two games

Being the same and D mentioned that you know they just Wasington hit some tough shots and obviously your offense home tonight but what kept them around was you know threes the free throws kind of like d mentioned you know obviously the threes are are tough to control when

They’re hitting tough shots but the free throws are are more controllable I guess what did you see on that front and what have you seen this week from teams that has made that aspect kind of tough to deal with uh yeah um obviously credit to

Them uh you know we play in the NBA and every single night there’s really good players out there um so there’s no such thing as a shut out in the NBA um uh but at the same time whether we held them to 120 points or 90 points you

Know there’s there’s going to be aspects we can learn from and improve from and um that’s the way we’re looking at it uh you know we have to be better than we were tonight for the next game um we have to continue with that mentality going forward um just continue

To learn from from all the lessons that we’ve gotten Jeff last one Chad what did you learn last year from watching Shay and then how were you able to apply that to actual Encore production for this season um I learned that he’s a really good basketball player and

Uh you know just not only watching him but watching everybody and and the way we play basketball obviously we do some things different this year than we did last year um just based on um whether it’s uh Personnel wise or coach preference or whatever it might be we do

Some things different but um and and we have guys who worked extremely hard in the summer too so their games are evolving they can do different things so um it’s not the same as last year but I I I got a good understanding of uh Thunder basketball and and the way that

Works and I was able to apply that in different ways um and you know I definitely feel like I made the most out of the time gy Thunder Mark seemed like Washington just kept kind of coming at you guys what kind of concentration uh

Did you see from your guys to be able to to just make it a 48 minute effort and ride the thing out yeah we had to run through the finish line for sure um we just we we kept building leads and couldn’t get away from them they made

Timely plays And Timely shots uh and played all the way through uh so obviously we had to do do that too and we did um so good win offensively you guys had 37 assists tonight and seemed to really do a nice job of playing off with each other uh

Anything in particular stand out to you about the way that you guys attacked or was this um you know exactly kind of what you tried to build night in and night out yeah I thought they had a really good offensive night um and some of that was was them I thought you know

They like I said made some timely plays timely shots uh but we paced ahead of them most of the night off defensively I thought we had a really really good floor game really good blend uh good Pace up the floor good job moving it side toide good job playing together

Inside the actions good cutting good spacing good extra passing uh I thought it was a really really you know sound offensive effort Mark you you went tonight with the offense humming but it kept it close after shooting 47% from three and making 25 free throws which is something that

You know as as disciplined as defense has been it feels like those two things have kind of pled you on this trip I wonder what you’ve seen from the defense in general that’s just allowed those things to kind of swellow so far this week yeah I mean every game’s different

I thought tonight’s game was a lot different uh than the last two to be honest with you I thought our intensity uh and how hard we played tonight um was much much better and I thought uh you know there were times in those other two

Games where we gave up a lot of unearned stuff and I didn’t think much tonight was uned earned you know there were certainly possessions but we made them earn it and sometimes you know in the NBA you make a team earn it and they still you know they earn it or they they

Hit shots I thought that was the case a lot of the night tonight but um I thought our intensity and our energy was much better on the defensive end uh tonight than it had been in the previous game and we talk about jayen all the

Time just the the kind of leash he’s had and the amount of Freedom he’s had as a ball handler and as a Creator start a second and fourth and just in general but it felt like between the no looks and the snappy passes today like he

Looked as comfortable as he’s been as a ball hanger I I wonder what you you seen to this point what you saw today that that made him see that way and do you agree with that assessment um I think just over time I would I’d be careful to

You know overreact to one data point ever I just over time he’s grown in confidence um and comfort on the ball uh he’s always been a willing and great decision maker I always have respected that about him just his willingness to make simple plays um that’s you know the

Mark of a very mature player and he’s definitely got that I thought his first half was evidence of that cuz he didn’t score it a ton in the first half I think he only you know only took a few shots but really controlled the game um and

Let the game come to him and and that’s been consistent over time but uh he was excellent tonight you know with the ball in his hands he just had a great blend sorry follow use the mic to to that point have you seen him cuz I know his

Role has kind of changed even in just the two years he’s been here have you seen him maybe lean into a facilitator being a facilitator now more than yeah I mean if the ball’s going to be in your hands then there’s a huge responsibility in that you know the ball is not

Distributed equally across the team and some guys have the ball more than others and you want the guys that have the ball the most to be uh great decision makers um and play with great maturity and play with a great blend of aggression but also uh activating their teammates and

Um you know our our creators do that you know and he’s certainly in that category coach we seen Aaron benefit from a lot of his cutting I mean that’s that’s been his entire career but tonight it just seemed on on a different level what did

You see from him just tonight in the way that he was able to find his creases and windows yeah he found the creases for sure you know I thought uh good roller uh as a guard he’s really improved that skill uh and a really good cutter you

Know just a really sound offb player he’s a classic example of somebody that um you know his Player Development has been inside of a system you know he’s really become great in our system fundamentals and in playing inside of what we do uh and he’s worked hard at

That and developed that really well over time so very easy to to plug him into really any role and have him function at a high level and tonight was just another example of that he played really well how impressive is it to see his growth just within that role because I

Mean it is kind of you know a unique situation for him to be in to you know be such an off cutter and mover and spacer and be able to still grow and develop within that yeah I mean there’s there’s you know um Player Development

In terms of skills which I think is what everybody Associates Player Development with but um especially you on the offensive end of the ball you have to develop inside the system if you want to have a system and you want to have uh A system that the hole is better than some

Of the parts and he’s a hole is better than some of the parts player you know he just everything he does out there enhances the hole on the offensive end of the ball um and creates space and opportunity for his teammates and for himself and uh tonight was obviously a a

Mark of that and then just wanted to ask about Chad you seemed to get some really quality looks right there in that trail spot just what did you think of you know the shots that he was able to get tonight yeah I mean he’s a unique player

You know that we um you know he’s a role and pop threat um and a lot of that you know when he’s a pick and roll screener a lot of that’s dependent on us finding him and I thought um we did a good job of finding him tonight I actually

Thought we missed him a couple times too I thought we missed him on a couple rolls I thought we missed him on a couple of his pops but for the most part we found him and I think we have to have a radar for him um because of his

Potency and shooting it and how well he plays in Closeouts and I thought we did a nice job of that tonight you guys had a play I think in the first half where case Cuts Baseline jdub acts like he’s going to go set a back screen and he

Kind of just peels off of it and cuts back door I’m sure you guys have you done that other times this season but I was just curious if that’s a is that a read Thing by job there or is that a something that you guys um try to get to

That has like uh you know it’s like a concept uh it’s a read I mean it’s inside of a play that we run off and uh and the guys have gotten good at reading so you know it’s every every defensive play is different we want to have a team

That can read the game uh it was definitely a set play but he he made a read Josh made a read on the delivery Mark and talking about Aaron you mention he’s an enhancer he’s super plugable and I I wonder because obviously there’s with as many questions as there are

About you know your rotations um there is a method to it and so I wondered when when he picks up dmps and and whatnot as useful as he is like what is there what room does he have to maybe become more of a fixture in theel I think sometimes

With the rotation questions it’s um you know it’s never the guy that’s not playing it’s not necessarily an indictment on them it’s just um we think that whatever we’re doing is is better on that night for what we’re trying to accomplish short and long term you know

And so um if somebody takes a DMP or somebody doesn’t play a lot of minutes you know minutes are constraining there’s 240 of them and you have to uh divide it accordingly you know you don’t have unlimited opportunity and so um we do the best we can to balance that um

But he’s a guy that I would argue the inconsistent role that he’s had over time I thought I think has made him more adaptive and tougher and it’s actually helped him as a player um and so I trust him in any situation even if he’s not in in the mix say in

The first half of a game I’ll throw him in in the second half because of um you know he’s developed thick skin with that and we want a team that of guys that can do that um and so that’s how we we proceed

Hear from Isaiah Joe, Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren, and Head Coach Mark Daigneault following OKC’s 136 – 128 win over the Wizards.

0:00 Isaiah Joe
4:26 Jalen Williams
10:45 Chet Holmgren
18:23 Coach Daigneault

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