Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, James Harden and friends led Oklahoma City to their first NBA Finals 13 years ago, but then they failed to overthrow Miami and LeBron James.
Shay Gilges-Alexander, the club's biggest star today and the league's MVP, doesn't want the new generation of Thunder to go through something similar - and he said so while the Paycom Center celebrated its triumph over Minnesota in the Western Conference finals - 124:94, for a 4:1 series lead.
"We still have a lot to grow, we still have a lot of work to do to reach our ultimate goal, and it is certainly not this. I am completely focused on the grand finale," said SGA, who led his team to victory in the fifth match with 32 points.
Overall, he averaged 31,4 points, 8,2 assists and 5,2 rebounds during the series, and he also won the MVP award for the conference finals.
And while the Canadian immediately started thinking about the finals after the triumph over the Timberwolves, the younger players on the team knew how to celebrate winning the conference.
"They are special - they do everything right, and they have exceptional character," OKC coach Mark Degnolt emphasized during a TV interview from the court.
At that moment, his boys jokingly covered him with towels, put a cap on his head, and Degnolt passed.
"They're idiots too," the Oklahoma coach joked.
Along with Gilges-Alexander, Chet Holmgren was brilliant on the winning team with 22 points, seven rebounds and three blocks, and Jaylen Williams added 19 points and eight rebounds.
On the other side, Julius Randle scored 24 points and Anthony Edwards added 19, while Minnesota shot just 41,2 percent from the field and had 21 turnovers.
The Wolves will have to wait for a new opportunity, and this is the time for "thunder." The team that, after Durant's departure, reached the bottom of the NBA league, is now dreaming of 1979, when it was the only time - then as the Seattle SuperSonics - it was the champion of the strongest league in the world.
And, on the road to glory, the winner from the East awaits - Indiana currently has a big 3:1 lead against New York.
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