The coaches see their players growing to another level, while teammates witness every step and routine on the way up.
Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein shared Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s mindset and habits on becoming who he is, leading his team for three postseasons and a title.
The big man explained that the two-time MVP has a leadership style of bringing down ego and involving his teammates.
“Kind of what I said before, just he has no ego. There’s no, ‘I’m just going to score. I’m trying to make it by myself.’ It’s never that. There was even times at the beginning of the season where he threw me a pass, he got trapped, and I threw it to the next man to get a shot,” Hartenstein said, via Podcast P.
The floor general’s winning mentality has been steady in scoring, which has made a huge difference in building consistent momentum and reaching the first seed in two seasons.
“And I’m like, sorry, I’ll finish it next time. You get your assist. And he’s like, ‘I don’t care. I just want to win. I just want to win. So do whatever you need.’ So even if he’s putting up those huge numbers, he’s not searching them. He’s flowing. He’s trying to make the team as best as possible,” he added.
Gilgeous-Alexander has won two straight Most Valuable Player Awards and earned his first championship in 2025.
The two-time MVP led the Thunder in scoring in 19 out of 23 playoff games (82.6%) during their historic 2025 postseason run alone and has paced the team in scoring across the vast majority of his 55+ career postseason appearances.
