Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Says Approach the Same After 2-of-16 Showing vs. Nuggets

If there’s one star in the NBA who doesn’t get too riled up, it’s Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

So it doesn’t come as a surprise that he was fairly cool, calm and collected following OKC’s blowout home loss to the Nuggets, a game in which Gilgeous-Alexander scored just seven points on 2-of-16 shooting.

Remember, this is a man who averaged 31.4 points and was named first-team All-NBA last season. So this was an extreme rarity.

“Tomorrow I have to wake up the same way I would have to wake up if I had a 20-for-21 type of night,” Gilgeous-Alexander said, via Joe Mussatto of the Oklahoman. “Basketball, I love it and it’s a big part of my life, but it’s not the only thing. It doesn’t define who I am as a human being.”

SGA hasn’t been held to seven points since Dec. 16, 2019, per Mussatto. We can be fairly certain it won’t happen again anytime soon.

“Some of it’s just the bounce of the ball,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault told reporters of Gilgeous-Alexander’s showing. “The thing I respect about him is his ability to stay even through the ups and downs of the season, and this is obviously a down early on for his individual play … There won’t be many nights like this for him.”