"I am trying to take his head off" - Shai Gilgeous-Alexander quips about battling cousin Nickeil Alexander-Walker in WCF clash

With their Game 7 win on Sunday, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the OKC Thunder are Western Conference finals-bound. They are set to face the Minnesota Timberwolves to determine who will move on to the NBA Finals for a shot at the championship.

There will be several interesting matchups between the Wolves and the Thunder, with one being between Gilgeous-Alexander and Nickeil Alexander-Walker. What makes this matchup interesting is their family ties, as they are cousins.

Gilgeous-Alexander shared his close relationship with Alexander-Walker and his mentality coming into their WCF matchup.

"It''ll be very fun," Gilgeous-Alexander said. "It's hard to explain. If you knew how close we are, he's like my second brother. He's been through every stage of life with me.

"For both of us to be where we are is special. To compete against each other is even more special," he added. "But, I am trying to take his head off for sure. Completely."

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the OKC Thunder are coming off a grueling seven-game series against the Denver Nuggets. The back-and-forth series eventually concluded on Sunday, with the Thunder trouncing Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets 125-93.

Gilgeous-Alexander logged 35 points, three rebounds, four assists, three steals and one block to eliminate Denver.

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Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been a problem for the Minnesota Timberwolves this season

The OKC Thunder and the Minnesota Timberwolves played four games against each other during the regular season. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was active in all four games and proved challenging for the Wolves's defense to contain.

In their first matchup on Dec. 31, he scored 40 points to lead his team to a 113-105 win. He flirted with a triple-double on their second matchup on Feb. 13, logging 24 points, eight rebounds and nine assists. However, Minnesota won 116-101.

Gilgeous-Alexander nearly registered another triple-double in the third Thunder-Timberwolves matchup on Feb. 23. He finished with 37 points, eight rebounds and eight assists as well as three steals and three blocks. His tremendous outing was a major factor in OKC winning 130-123.

In their final regular-season matchup on Feb. 24, he had a 39-point and 10-rebound performance. He also dished out eight dimes, but Thunder lost 131-128 in overtime.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 35.0 points, 7.3 rebounds and 6.8 assists against the Timberwolves. His cousin, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, put up 15.3 ppg, 4.3 rpg and 2.0 apg in these four matchups.