If Alexander leads the team to win the championship, Durant and Westbrook s Thunder status will be surpassed by him

On May 29, the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves with a big score of 4-1 in the Western Conference Finals and successfully advanced to the 2024-2025 NBA Finals. The victory in this series not only marks the Thunder's return to the finals since 2012, but also allows fans to see the extraordinary strength of a new generation of Thunder leader Shay Gilgers-Alexander. The 26-year-old Canadian defender averaged 31.2 points, 6.8 assists and 5.4 rebounds in five games, shooting 51.3% from the field and shooting 38.7% from the 3-point range. His stable performance at critical moments, especially his performance of scoring 8 points in the last moment of Game 4 of the series, completely defeated the Timberwolves' counterattack momentum.

Alexander's rise trajectory is a model for the modern NBA. In 2018, he was selected by the Charlotte Hornets with the 11th pick and traded to the Los Angeles Clippers immediately, and a year later, he came to the Thunder as a bargaining chip for Paul George. During the Thunder's reconstruction, Alexander gradually grew from a potential rookie to an All-Star player and now a MVP candidate. This season's regular season, he averaged 30.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game, leading the Thunder to a second record in the Western Conference with 57 wins and 25 losses. Compared with the Thunder during the Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook era, this team's team building philosophy is more modern - emphasizing space, passing and defensive rotation, and Alexander is the perfect core of this system.

If Alexander can lead this young Thunder team to the championship, it will completely change the ranking of great players in the Thunder history. Although Durant and Westbrook had numerous personal honors during the Thunder period (including the Supersonic period) - Durant won four scoring champions and one MVP, Westbrook set a record of 42 triple-doubles in a single season and won an MVP - they never failed to bring a championship trophy to Oxford City. In the 2012 Finals, the "Thunder Three Young Masters" composed of Durant, Westbrook and Harden lost 1-4 to the Heat led by LeBron James. Since then, due to salary pressure and differences in team building philosophy, the Thunder has lost Harden and Durant one after another. Westbrook has been defending Russia alone for many years but has not broken through the Western Conference Finals.

From the perspective of team building, the Thunder management of the Alexander era showed more mature operational capabilities. General Manager Sam Presti has created a team that is both talented and profound through exquisite drafts (such as Homegren, Jaylen Williams) and trades (such as Get Caruso). Unlike Dewey's reliance on singles to star players during the Dewey era, the Thunder now ranks third in the league in assists per game, the first in the league in three-point shooting percentage, and the top five in defensive efficiency. This "team first" concept allows the Thunder to show stronger resilience in the playoffs - sweeping the Pelicans 4-0 in the first round, defeating the defending champion Nuggets 4-2 in the second round, and suppressing the Timberwolves, who have Edwards and Towns.

Analysis of personal technical characteristics, Alexander combines the advantages of Durant and Westbrook. He has Durant-level mid-range lethality, and his shooting percentage in the 10-19-foot area this season reached an astonishing 52.1%; at the same time, he inherited Westbrook's explosive power to hit the basket, and averaged the number one in the league in breakthroughs per game, ranking first in the inside linebacker scored. But unlike the two seniors, Alexander's game focuses more on efficiency rather than data accumulation. With his usage rate as high as 32.1%, his real hit rate remains at the elite level of 63.4%. This efficient style of play is particularly important in the playoffs - when the Timberwolves take turns defending with McDaniels and Alexander Walker, he still maintains a steady output.

From the perspective of team cultural construction, Alexander has won a more united locker room atmosphere than the Dewey era. Durant had a tense relationship with the team when he left the team, and Westbrook also had differences with the coaching staff due to record pressure in the later period. Alexander won the trust of his teammates through his low-key and pragmatic style. After advancing to the finals, Chet Homgren said bluntly: "Shay never asks for privileges. He is always the first to train and the last to leave. "This leadership method has given the Thunder a unique chemistry. The team has six players averaging double-digit points per game but no reports of locker room problems.

If he really wins the championship, Alexander will set a number of historical records: he will become the first Canadian player in NBA history to lead a draft reconstruction team to win the championship; the Thunder will become the first team to win the championship with non-US players as the number one star since the Supersonics in 1979; at the same time, he will also break the Thunder player total score record for single season playoffs held by Durant (Alexander has scored 489 points, only 74 points away from Durant's 563 points in 2012). These achievements will consolidate his special position in the Thunder history.

Of course, basketball is a team sport, and it is not fair to simply compare players from different eras. Durant and Westbrook faced opponents in the 2010s including the Heat Big Three, the Spurs and the Warriors dynasty at their peak, and the competition landscape in the league is now very different. But it is undeniable that the championship ring has always been the most important yardstick for measuring the historical status of a star. As Charles Barkley said: "Great players need champions to prove themselves, otherwise people will always ask 'if "

As the finals approach, Alexander has the opportunity to complete the unfinished career of the Dewey group. Whether the opponent is the Celtics or the Pacers, the Thunder will be the one that is not favored. But it is this challenger posture that makes Alexander's potential champion more legendary. If he can continue his performance in the Western Conference Finals, he will not only win the FMVP trophy for himself, but also redefine the Thunder's history - from "the regret of the Dewey era" to "the starting point of the Alexander dynasty". If this day really comes, fans in Oktoberfolk may start discussing who should set up outside the stadium.