The Oklahoma City Thunder’s 2024-25 NBA playoff run came to a devastating close in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals, where a 4-3 series defeat at the hands of the San Antonio Spurs ended their bid for a back-to-back championship. For two-time reigning league MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the early exit does not just mark a disappointing end to the campaign — it qualifies the entire season as a failure.
In the wake of the hard-fought loss, Gilgeous-Alexander opened up about his high personal standards, saying that he fell short of the goal he set at the start of the season. “I failed at my goal,” he explained. “I didn’t achieve what I wanted to achieve. But I learn the most about myself and make the greatest amount of growth 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 examine that reason and work to make sure this outcome never happens again.”
Throughout the regular season, Gilgeous-Alexander turned in a historic individual performance, averaging 31.1 points per game on 55.3% field goal shooting and 38.6% three-point shooting. But his signature elite efficiency dipped sharply across the seven-game series against San Antonio, where he dropped to 25.9 points per game on just 40.9% shooting from the field and 28.6% from beyond the arc. Even so, the MVP delivered a vintage performance in the do-or-die Game 7, pouring in 35 points on 21 attempts and nearly lifted an injury-depleted Thunder squad to an upset series win.
San Antonio’s defensive game plan was built entirely around slowing Gilgeous-Alexander, funneling all his drives toward anchor Victor Wembanyama at the rim to force the MVP into high-contest midrange jumpers instead of the high-percentage looks he typically generates. “There’s a guy on their back line that is a little bit different,” Gilgeous-Alexander said of Wembanyama. “They funnel everything to him. It’s a really good defense. But it’s not impossible to score. I just think it’s very different.”
Beyond the Spurs’ game planning, the Thunder were crippled by key injuries to their supporting cast that left Gilgeous-Alexander without his usual offensive help. Second-leading scorer Jalen Williams aggravated a nagging left hamstring injury early in Game 2, and was limited to just 54 total minutes across the entire series. He made a brief, rusty appearance in Game 6 before being sidelined entirely for the deciding Game 7.
Williams made no secret of his belief that his absence changed the series’ outcome. “Obviously I think I could have made an impact,” Williams said. “I think we could have won if I played. We went to seven with them without me playing. I don’t think I make us worse. That’s really my answer to that. But it’s also hats off to them. What do you want them to do about me being hurt?”
The Thunder also lost replacement starter Ajay Mitchell for most of the series. Mitchell had been a breakout star in the team’s second-round sweep of the Los Angeles Lakers, averaging 22.5 points per game in that matchup, but suffered a strained right calf in Game 3 against San Antonio that ended his season prematurely.
With the Thunder eliminated, the San Antonio Spurs will advance to the 2025 NBA Finals, where they are set to tip off against the New York Knicks on June 3.