SGA inadvertently admits to an undeniable Spurs truth OKC can't ignore

While the Spurs were cleaning up the Grizzlies like a stay-at-home mom getting their kids ready for kindergarten, the Thunder were dropping a big game to the Celtics. After the loss, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander revealed that they are playing for that number one seed, understanding its value to their goals this postseason.

It's no slight to acknowledge the obvious fact that having homecourt advantage is worth fighting for. That doesn't mean we can't also point out how fascinating it is that they're in this position in the first place.

The only things we heard about OKC a month into the 2025-26 campaign were about how unbeatable they looked and if they could break Golden State's 73-9 regular season record. Now there's legitimate in-house concern about landing the number one seed, and the collapse of the invincibility veil they once portrayed is all because of San Antonio.

The Spurs are having the loudest season in the NBA

There's a humble streak in this team, but that mainly only applies to how they feel about each other. This is a very good collection of players, and they believe in themselves. That confidence spills onto the court in the form of posterizing dunks, stare downs, and booming celebrations with a drum that seems to materialize from nowhere at the end of big wins at the Frost Bank Center.

That confidence has also led them to those huge victories over the best teams in the league all season. OKC's quest to break the regular season wins record was pretty much halted by the Silver and Black when they knocked them off three times within the span of a few weeks.

After that, the Thunder's fear factor was gone, and they dropped more games as teams around the league got their shot at a defending champ with cracked armor. Home court is valuable, and San Antonio is right on their heels. It would be disingenuous for Shai to act otherwise, so again, his comments are a reason to jump on him.

We don't want to be hypocrites here. We praise Victor Wembanyama for caring about winning everything, so we should afford SGA the same courtesy. Now, that doesn't excuse the times he comes off indifferent about the records when nobody believes it, but this isn't that.

OKC has a real problem on their hands as the regular season winds down the home stretch. The Spurs are only two games behind them now, holding the tiebreaker that favors them in their back pocket. If the road to the Larry O'Brien Trophy goes through the FBC, an already fearless Silver and Black crew gets another large advantage. Gilgeous-Alexander is honest enough to acknowledge that.