Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will look to lead the OKC Thunder once more, after steering the franchise to its first-ever NBA championship last season. Ahead of this season, Gilgeous-Alexander continued to double down on his game as he looks to anchor the Thunder to back-to-back titles. During the Thunder's media day, Gilgeous-Alexander talked about his offseason work ethic, expressing how important it was for him to continue working on himself despite not having games. “It has made me," he said. "I was never a player that jumped out of the gym or had any insane talents. I had to work for it. I had to craft and carve and mold myself into this player that I am today. And I’ll never forget that.”However, NBA fans were not impressed as they criticized SGA for being verbose in his statements. 𝗠𝗔𝗟 @MindOfBronLINKthis n**ga Shai will take forever to get the point because he’s too busy trying to sound like AristotleKnecht4THREEE 🥶4️⃣ @Dk1fannLINK@MindOfBron son i fell asleep halfway thruDynasprite🐜 @spritery00LINK@MindOfBron Taking long ass pause to articulate himself tearsOthers likened Gilgeous-Alexander's articulation to other memes.Pipleth @_PiplethLINK@MindOfBron He's acting like he's 5'3 and a woman that defied all odds to make the NBA tooHeroOfTheDay @Hero_OfThe_DayLINK@MindOfBron Man dribbles a basketball for a living, and he thinks that makes him Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.Presti’s Burner @weupnext0430LINK@MindOfBron And he will always get to his point before Lebron gets to page 2Gilgeous-Alexander won the regular season MVP and became the scoring champion last season. He was also the Finals MVP for the Thunder's championship run, where they defeated the Indiana Pacers in seven games. He averaged 32.7 points, 5.0 rebounds, 6.4 assists, 1.0 blocks, and 1.7 steals per game to steer the Thunder to the top seed in the Western Conference. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander gets candid on superstar teammate's resolve after championship runShai Gilgeous-Alexander has also given his props to his co-star Jalen Williams for his offseason work following his wrist injury. According to the Thunder superstar, Williams kept himself in shape throughout the offseason, while having a cast on his wrist. “Dub is a warrior. He just did whatever it took. And he’s been that all year. He’s been that since he got here. He’s been that for us. He’s been like a Swiss Army knife and just does whatever. We have no bigs, he plays the 5. Has a broken wrist, he has 40 in the finals," he said.Williams picked up the injury during their 2025 playoffs run. He went on to score 40 points in Game 5 of the finals. Williams is expected to return for the Thunder on opening night, adding to the Thunder's offensive firepower, headlined by Gilgeous-Alexander.