Shai Gilgeous-Alexander sends perfect message after Thunder make Finals

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added to his trophy case on Wednesday night, but he is still far from satisfied.

Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder advanced to the NBA Finals with a 124-94 victory in Game 5 of their Western Conference Finals series against the Minnesota Timberwolves. It was another efficient scoring effort for Gilgeous-Alexander, who finished with 34 points on 14-of-25 to go along with seven rebounds and eight assists to pace the Thunder.

After the final buzzer, Oklahoma City received their Western Conference title trophy. Gilgeous-Alexander was interviewed by ESPN’s Lisa Salters and made sure to stress that the work was not close to finished.

“This is a step in the right direction, but we have a lot more work to do,” said Gilgeous-Alexander. “We know that, and that’s what we’re focused on.”

Gilgeous-Alexander then closed things out with a six-word message — “Let’s buckle up and get ready.”

During the ceremony, Gilgeous-Alexander was also named Western Conference Finals MVP. It was a clean sweep for Gilgeous-Alexander, who received all nine votes for the award from the media panel.