‘One game. Bring your A game’: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander resets for historic NBA Finals Game 7

INDIANAPOLIS – As Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander departed for the team bus after the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy stayed out of his reach, the face of the franchise spoke about the mentality he needed in a deciding Game 7 in this memorable 2025 NBA Finals.

“One game. Winner takes all. Give it your best shot. Bring your ‘A’ game. I don’t try to complicate it,” Gilgeous-Alexander told Andscape.

Thursday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, the 2025 NBA Most Valuable Player and his Thunder entered Game 6 of the NBA Finals needing one victory to claim the franchise’s first championship since moving to Oklahoma City Thunder.

But the Indiana Pacers and injury-plagued guard Tyrese Haliburton fought impressively to keep their season alive in a 108-91 win in Game 6. With the series tied 3-3, the Thunder and the Pacers will meet in a winner-takes-all Game 7.

This is the first NBA Finals Game 7 since LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors in the deciding game of the 2016 NBA Finals in Oakland, California. The 20th Game 7 in NBA Finals history will be played Sunday at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City (8 pm. ET, ABC).

“The way I see it is, we sucked tonight,” Gilgeous-Alexander said at his news conference about Game 6. “We can learn our lessons. We have one game for everything, for everything we’ve worked for, and so do they. The better team Sunday will win.”

Gilgeous-Alexander was honest and correct. The Thunder did “suck” in a rare opportunity to claim a title. Aside from Game 7 being played in Oklahoma City, the Thunder and the Pacers are on equal footing, fighting for the right to claim a championship in one game.

In Game 6, Gilgeous-Alexander scored a team-high 21 points, but it was his lowest scoring output of the Finals. Oklahoma City trailed by as many as 31 points, its second-largest deficit of the season. The Thunder starters sat out the fourth quarter, missed 22 of 30 3-pointers and had 21 turnovers. Once the buzzer sounded, Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder’s best move was to move on knowing what is at stake Sunday.

So, what was Gilgeous-Alexander pondering in the fourth quarter on the bench?

“Thinking about what you could have did better or what I could have did better tonight,” he said. “Also, watching the group on the floor was impressive. They were great. They haven’t played all series, then they go out there and play as hard as they did. It was inspiring. They were really good tonight. Kind of taught me a lesson. Then just trying to do everything I can, everything I can learn from them to get ready for the next game.”

There are several stars in this eye-popping Finals who are leaving their mark.

Haliburton nailed a game-winning shot with 0.3 of a second remaining in Game 1 to give the Pacers the win. And he overcame a calf injury to score 14 points in Game 6. Pacers All-Star Pascal Siakam had a double-double of 16 points and 13 rebounds in Game 6. Thunder All-Star Jalen Williams scored 40 points in Game 5 and has scored 25 in three Finals contests.

But there is no question that Gilgeous-Alexander is the star of stars in these Finals, averaging 30.5 points, 4.5 assists, 4.5 rebounds, 2.0 steals and 1.0 blocks per game. The highest scoring average in an NBA Finals was by Warriors forward Rick Barry, who averaged 36.3 points in 1968.

A paramount scoring performance by Gilgeous-Alexander in Game 7 could break Barry’s record and win the Thunder the title. Gilgeous-Alexander has scored 30 points or more in the Thunder’s three Finals wins.

Gilgeous-Alexander has proven to be more than capable of being special in big games, averaging a league-best 32.7 points, 6.4 assists, and 5.0 rebounds before securing 71 of the 100 first-place votes for the 2025 NBA MVP award. With the championship on the line Sunday, however, Gilgeous-Alexander said he doesn’t feel it’s necessary to play a superhero role for the Thunder to make history.

“I don’t feel like I have to do anything other than just be the best version of myself,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “I think that goes for everyone else in the room. We just have to bring what we bring to the table, what we’ve brought to the table all year, bring our best come Sunday.”

What could aid Gilgeous-Alexander’s title dream is that he has played in his share of do-or-die games in recent years.

Gilgeous-Alexander had team-highs of 29 points, seven rebounds and three assists as a freshman to lead the University of Kentucky to a 77-72 win against Tennessee in the 2018 SEC championship game in 2018. His Wildcats advanced to the Sweet 16 of the 2018 NCAA tournament.

Gilgeous-Alexander scored 27 points when Canada was eliminated in the quarterfinals by France in the 2024 Paris Olympics. He had 35 points as the Thunder defeated the Denver Nuggets in Game 7 of the Western Conference semifinals in these playoffs. Home teams have a record of 15-4 (.789) in Game 7 of the NBA Finals. No player on either roster has played in Game 7 of the NBA Finals.

“All those experiences help me, for sure, like the one-and-done experiences, do-or-die games. There’s lessons from every game, but those games in particular, for sure, are going to help,” he said.

As a rising global superstar, much will be given to Gilgeous-Alexander in Oklahoma, Canada and worldwide if he leads the Thunder to a championship on his home floor. If Gilgeous-Alexander doesn’t win, however, to whom much is given unfortunately endures most of the blame.

“One game for everything you ever dreamed of,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “If you win it, you get everything. If you lose it, you get nothing. It’s that simple.”