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Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Has Strong Words For Chet Holmgren During NBA Finals

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Svyato Rovenchuk | Last updated Jun 9, 2025 12:03 PM ET

Game 2 of the NBA Finals featured a much-needed bounce-back performance for the Oklahoma City Thunder after a stunning defeat in Game 1. The Thunder dominated the Indiana Pacers, comfortably winning a commanding 123-107 outing on Sunday.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had a big part in the win. The 2024-25 MVP posted 34 points, eight assists, five rebounds, four steals, and one block.

Chet Holmgren was one of the players who struggled in that first loss of the series. The Thunder big man only had six points and six rebounds in Game 1. The second game in Oklahoma City was much better.

Holmgren finished with 15 points, six rebounds, and one block. There was a notable difference from the get-go with the young star.

The impressive part of the improvements from Holmgren was the fact that Gilgeous-Alexander said it was all self-motivated. The Thunder superstar had some strong words for his teammate after the series was evened up at 1-1.

"The special thing about Chet is nobody said anything to him," Gilgeous-Alexander stated after the Game 2 win. "He's such a competitor, and he gets lost in the competition, and I think he's the best version of himself now."

"He's going to go out there and make mistakes just like the rest of us, but his intentions, his intangibles, his skill set, and the things you just can't teach that he does on the basketball court, they'll take over as long as he continues to have that right mindset.

Which he does 99.999 percent of the time. And yeah, you don't have to worry about Chet. He's going to be that guy."

-Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

SGA:

"The special thing about Chet is nobody said anything to him. He gets lost in the competition and that's the best version of himself. You don't have to worry about Chet. He's gonna be that guy" pic.twitter.com/s6cpeJMCe2
— Oh No He Didn't (@ohnohedidnt24) June 9, 2025

The Thunder will hope that Gilgeous-Alexander's words resonate with Holmgren moving forward. However, according to the superstar point guard himself, his teammate is capable of figuring everything out all by himself.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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