Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander gives Warriors high praise after matchup

The Oklahoma City Thunder may have the best record in the Western Conference, but they still barely escaped facing a Steph Curry-less Golden State Warriors with a 105-101 victory earlier this week. Following the game, Thunder All-Star point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was asked about facing the shorthanded Dubs. His answer was highly complimentary of the franchise and would seem to bode well for the team’s prospects this season.

“Every time you play this team it’s a dogfight,” Alexander told reporters, per Farbod Esnaashari. “They won at a high level for so long for a reason. No matter who’s out there, no matter who’s not playing, they play the right way, they play together and they play physical. We knew that coming into the night and we did enough of that obviously barring some injuries to get a dub.”

The Warriors organizational stability has been tested in recent years, following the departures of prominent players like Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, and Jordan Poole, and prominent assistant coaches and executives. However, head coach Steve Kerr, Steph Curry, and Draymond Green have always been the most pivotal culture-setters for the team day-by-day. That trio seemed to have capitalized on their veteran magic during the 2021-22 season, which ended in an NBA title. However, that magic seemingly disappeared in the past two seasons.

But maybe they’ve found the magic again.