“Better as a Group”: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s Bold Take as the Thunder Loses a Third Straight Game Against the Spurs 2 Jan 5, 2025; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) shoots the ball defended by Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) during the first quarter at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images. NBA Fans. NBA Fans

'Better as a Group': Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s Bold Take as the Thunder Loses a Third Straight Game Against the Spurs

Originally posted on Hardwood Heroics | By Reign Amurao | Last updated Dec 25, 2025 10:51 PM ET

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder couldn’t solve the San Antonio Spurs puzzle. On Christmas Day, the defending champions suffered a 117-102 loss to the Spurs. It was their third straight loss against San Antonio, which is quite alarming.

The Thunder struggled to shoot, which was one of the factors of their loss. Gilgeous-Alexander scored the most for the team with 22 points. But he had to work hard to reach that feat as he made 36.8% of his shots. Jalen Williams finished with 12 points on 38.5% shooting. The entire team only made 38.9% of their field goals.

The reigning MVP had a bold take on the Thunder’s recent loss to the Spurs. He took into account how the team has lost three times to San Antonio in the same month. According to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the Wembanyama-led team is better than OKC.

“You don’t lose to a team, three times in a row in a short span without them being better than you,” SGA said. “We have to get better… that’s everybody, from top to bottom, if we want to reach our ultimate goal.”

"You don't lose to a team, three times in a row … without them being better than you." – Shai on the Spurs pic.twitter.com/GXfO3p0qUL

— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) December 26, 2025

The Thunder’s season series against the Spurs isn’t over. They’ll have their third meeting of the year on January 13 for a chance to avoid the sweep.

Jaylen Brown had a hot take about Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is one of the most talented scorers in the league. He frequently receives criticism, though, for the way he gets his points. Usually, he draws fouls and gets easy points at the charity stripe. Last season, he attempted the third-most free throws with 8.8 per game.

Because of how much time he spends shooting the basketball from the free-throw line, fans have consistently called him out for it. Recently, Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown criticized SGA and mentioned how he constantly seeks fouls.

“Shai’s nice. Nice as f**k,” Brown said. “I don’t like the foul-baiting s**t. But Shai’s nice.”

Jaylen Brown says SGA is a flopper and a foul baiter pic.twitter.com/KqqjwbnsTi

— BrickCenter (@BrickCenter_) December 18, 2025

“It’s the difference between drawing a foul and then flopping. Flopping is like acting like you got hit and you didn’t get hit. If you got fouled, you got fouled.”

During the Thunder’s second game against the Spurs, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was called out by the fans . After he drew a foul on Dylan Harper, fans started to call him a “flopper.”

This article first appeared on Hardwood Heroics and was syndicated with permission.

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