Fresh off breaking Wilt Chamberlain\u2019s long-standing NBA record for consecutive 20-point games, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander made one thing clear: the individual milestone means far less than winning.<\/p>\n
Gilgeous-Alexander extended his streak to 127 straight games with 20 points or more, surpassing Chamberlain\u2019s mark that had stood since 1963. But when asked about the accomplishment after the game, the reigning MVP quickly turned the focus back to the team.<\/p>\n
\u201cNone of the things I accomplished would matter if we weren\u2019t winning,\u201d Gilgeous-Alexander said. \u201cAnd I probably wouldn\u2019t have most of them if we weren\u2019t winning. That\u2019s why you play the game.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Thunder star said his competitive drive has always centered on victories rather than statistics.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was crying when I was nine years old because I lost a championship,\u201d Gilgeous-Alexander said. \u201cYou don\u2019t want to lose as a kid, you don\u2019t want to lose as a grown man. When you\u2019re competitive, that\u2019s all that matters.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite leading the league\u2019s scouting reports nightly, Gilgeous-Alexander has found ways to adapt against different defensive strategies throughout the historic run.<\/p>\n
\u201cOver the years I\u2019ve just built my game and seen defenses,\u201d he said. \u201cI try to attack them with the tools I have and get better every year.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Thunder\u2019s success during the streak has also played a major role. Oklahoma City has dominated the standings while Gilgeous-Alexander\u2019s scoring run has continued.<\/p>\n
He credited teammates, coaching and the team\u2019s collective approach for the historic stretch.<\/p>\n
\u201cBasketball is a five-man sport. You can\u2019t win by yourself,\u201d Gilgeous-Alexander said. \u201cYou need great teammates, great role players, a great coach. I like to think we have all of those.\u201d<\/p>\n
Even with the milestone behind him, the Thunder guard believes there is still room to grow.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve never had a 50-40-90 season,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd there\u2019s always something to learn. The game is always evolving.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gilgeous-Alexander also admitted he didn\u2019t realize the exact moment he broke Chamberlain\u2019s record until the crowd erupted inside Paycom Center.<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew I was around there, but I didn\u2019t know exactly how many,\u201d he said. \u201cOnce I heard the crowd, I was like, \u2018OK, that must have been it.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
While the historic streak adds another chapter to his career, Gilgeous-Alexander said what he\u2019s most proud of is the success the Thunder have enjoyed along the way.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve won throughout the streak,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd we\u2019ve had a lot of fun doing it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Fresh off breaking Wilt Chamberlain\u2019s long-standing NBA record for consecutive 20-point games, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander made one thing clear:…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":521332,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[4,450,451,3,452,453],"class_list":["post-521331","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-breaking-news","tag-breaking-news","tag-breakingnews","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/521331","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=521331"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/521331\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/521332"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=521331"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=521331"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=521331"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}