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Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander reveals NBA Cup ‘hunter’s mentality’

Originally posted on NBA on ClutchPoints
By Josue Pavon, ClutchPoints | Last updated Dec 12, 2025 6:46 PM ET

Despite the defending champion’s emphatic near-perfect record, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder still strive to improve. The 24-1 Thunder is on a 16-game winning streak entering the NBA Cup semifinal game against the San Antonio Spurs.

Gilgeous-Alexander addressed the Thunder’s approach as defending champions this season during his media availability in Las Vegas.

“We go out there with a hunter’s mentality ourselves, and honestly, we go out there to better ourselves,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “I’m sure you guys have heard the stories about some of my teammates competing against each other during the games to get steals, and things like that — that’s where our minds is. We’re trying to be a better version of ourselves every night we go out there, we like to hunt in that form.

“If we didn’t get better tonight, then we wasted an opportunity. That’s kind of how we see it.”

"We go out there with a hunter's mentality… We're trying to be a better version of ourselves every night we go out there, we like to hunt in that form."

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on the OKC Thunder mindset coming into the NBA Cup

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Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder cruised to a 138-89 win against the Phoenix Suns in the NBA Cup quarterfinal at the Paycom Center, where Oklahoma City is a perfect 12-0 this season. The Spurs earned their spot in Vegas after beating the Los Angeles Lakers 132-119 on Wednesday.

All-Star Victor Wembanyama, who’s been sidelined with a left calf strain since November 14, is expeted to return for the Spurs.

Why Mark Daigneault isn’t focused on Thunder’s streak

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Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault addressed his team’s 16-game winning streak after Wednesday’s victory, explaining how his team’s lack of focus on the hype surrouding them has helped players stay locked in. It’s the kind of ideal mental focus Daigneault sees in the Thunder’s approach, which is at a high level, and has resulted in a team rattling off 16 consecutive wins.

“Not focusing on the win streak,” Daigneault said, is critical. “You just gotta play the next possession, get better the next day, win the next quarter, and compete in the next game. If you do that and you’re present in the process, sometimes you look up, and you win a certain amount of games in a row. But we certainly need to understand that we still have a lot of improvement to make. We have a lot of things to sustain and a lot of competitive challenges ahead.

“There’s a lot of season ahead of us. But guys have done a great job of staying very present in the season, so far, competing in the moment, and it’s put us in a nice position,” Daigneault concluded.

The Thunder will face the Spurs in Las Vegas on Saturday.

This article first appeared on NBA on ClutchPoints and was syndicated with permission.

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