OKLAHOMA CITY -- One day after his playoff run was cut shorter than anticipated, league MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander called his season a failure due to the lack of a second consecutive championship.
"I failed at my goal," Gilgeous-Alexander said. "I didn't achieve what I wanted to achieve. But I learn the most about myself and make the greatest amount of increases in my career when I fail and don't get what I want. I look at this no different. I didn't get where I wanted to go this season. There's a reason for that. Now I have to look at that reason and try to make sure it never happens again."
Gilgeous-Alexander's normally excellent efficiency dipped in the seven-game series loss to the San Antonio Spurs, as he averaged 25.9 points on 40.9% shooting and 28.6% on 3s, compared with 31.1 points on 55.3% shooting and 38.6% on 3s during the regular season.
He did score 35 points on 21 shots in a magnificent Game 7 performance, nearly willing the injured Thunder past the finish line. But that output came almost entirely against a swarming, overloaded Spurs defense designed to make life difficult on the two-time MVP.