All eyes were on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander heading into Game 1 of the Western Conference finals on Tuesday night. The three-time All-Star will be looking to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to victory in their series opener against the Minnesota Timberwolves in what is expected to be a thrilling matchup.
Ahead of the game, Gilgeous-Alexander was seen lying on the floor inside the Thunder locker room as the team made their final preparations for the game. It is unclear why the two-time All-NBA guard was on the floor while the rest of the squad were sitting on their chairs, presumably listening to some last-minute instructions ahead of the contest.
Either way, Gilgeous-Alexander's behavior right before tip-off quickly grabbed the attention of fans on social media.
"So dirty ð" a comment on X read.
"This yall mvp?" asked a user.
"Life when the @nba has decided to hand you everything," said another.
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
© Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images
"ððð" a reaction read.
"Lmaoo ESPN did Shai dirty with that locker room video ð" another said.
"This is y’all MVP ððð" wrote a fan.
Whatever the case might be, there is no doubt that Gilgeous-Alexander is locked into this crucial matchup. He will need to be at his very best if he wants to lead OKC to a crucial win in the first game of this series.
Minnesota will not make it easy for them, though. Anthony Edwards and Co. are utterly determined to score an upset in Game 1 at Paycom Center in Oklahoma to send a clear message early on in this series.