Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has done something nobody else in this postseason has managed: he has swept two consecutive rounds while still sounding bored of being asked about his own scoring.
Oklahoma City's reigning MVP arrived in the post-game room Wednesday after closing out the Los Angeles Lakers 4-0 in the Western Conference semifinals, and the most striking moments came when he was asked about an opponent rather than himself. The opponent, of course, was LeBron James.
"Yeah, it was fun," Gilgeous-Alexander said when asked what it was like competing against LeBron in a playoff series. "It's amazing what he's doing out there at this age. It's very impressive, but it's hard to put into words. He's not very old in the grand scheme of life, but for the NBA, he's pretty old. And he doesn't seem like it out there. He was a force. He was the top of the scouting report all series. His size gave us issue at times. He was impressive out there. It's — I'm not sure we'll see anything like it again. His longevity and his greatness for this long. But yeah, it was super fun. Glad I got to get four wins though, for sure."
The four wins, technically, take Oklahoma City to within eight victories of back-to-back titles. Gilgeous-Alexander, asked what he made of sweeping both the first two rounds, refused to break stride.
"We've done our job so far. That's all it really means," he said. "We've gone out there. We've executed. We've played at a high level and we've been able to win eight tough games against really good opponents. Nothing's guaranteed. In the playoffs, no game, no two games are the same — especially when you change opponents. So the challenges are all coming up. Everything that we've done so far is behind us. We still haven't reached our goal. We have two more series to win till we reach our ultimate goal and that's what we're focused on."
The Thunder closed out Game 4 with a 28-8 run after trailing 92-87 with under eight minutes to go. Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, AJ Mitchell and Chet Holmgren combined to bury the Lakers in a stretch that started with the Lakers crowd still standing and ended with LeBron James pacing the sideline.
"I think we just let the game happen," Gilgeous-Alexander said of that fourth quarter. "We've seen it all series — there's a certain amount of attacks that teams are going to go to to guard us defensively. We just have to know what to do when we see those defensive coverages. That's what it is late game. Whether they come or not, whether they let us play, just make the right basketball play out there and whoever ends up with it ends up with it. I don't have to shoot it. I don't have to make the home run or hero play. It's the best basketball play for our group. We've had good results late in games because of that."
A reporter then pulled Mark Daigneault's recent comment back into the room. The Thunder coach had said that no team in the playoffs has doubled SGA quite like the Lakers did — the kind of coverage that, last year, forced him to grow inside the Denver series.
"Yeah, absolutely. I wouldn't say like throughout the series — last year in the Denver series I found myself get better throughout the series. This series I felt like I just recognised my own personal growth, in compared to last year's semifinals, I think more than anything. Hats off to my teammates obviously. Their goal was to make my teammates beat them in the first three games and my teammates did exactly that. So hats off to them."
There was also Jared McCain, the Philadelphia 76ers rookie whose three-point shooting has dominated highlights all season. Asked to break down McCain as a fellow three-level scorer, Gilgeous-Alexander wanted to push back on the narrowest version of the scouting report first.
"I'm glad you said that. Jared McCain is a scorer. He's not a three-point shooter. Like, he's not. He just has an ability and a knack for putting the ball in the basket — whether it's a multiple-dribble move to a pull-up, a layup, a reverse layup. And then obviously, he hangs his hat on his two-point shooting and his floor spacing. But if you've watched Jared's career, he has — he's a scorer. He puts the ball in the basket anywhere on the floor. He just shoots it at a really high level, so they call him that, but yeah, he's a bucket getter."
The most revealing answer came when a reporter asked Andre Roberson — sitting alongside SGA — about his constant calm under pressure. The same mindset clearly applies to Gilgeous-Alexander himself.
"It just gives me the best chance to make the right decision on the next play, which is the most important," Roberson said. "I've noticed throughout my career, and through personal experiences, that emotions only get in the way of critical and smart thinking. Especially in those moments when I want to get the job done the most, I try to put my emotions aside and stay locked in on what's present and what matters most."
That, in two short paragraphs, is how the defending NBA champions are choosing to handle a 4-0 sweep of one of the league's most storied franchises. No fist-pumps. No proclamations. Just a four-time MVP shrugging in admiration of LeBron James, and a clock already ticking down to whoever survives Denver-Golden State.
Eight more wins. Two more series. And, Gilgeous-Alexander would prefer you remember, nothing is guaranteed.
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*Originally published on [NBA News Global](https://nbanews.global/article/shai-gilgeous-alexander-lebron-tribute-thunder-sweep-mccain-may-2026). Visit for full coverage.*
