After beating Steve Kerr and the Golden State Warriors 124-112 on Tuesday, Oklahoma City Thunder's Jalen Williams reflected on the surrealness of facing a team he watched win championships as the NBA's most recent dynasty. For Williams, it's wild to think he and the defending champion Thunder are on a similar path to the team he watched win back-to-back in its heyday.
Now, the Warriors, a team that won four championships in seven seasons, are in their twilight years. Led by All-Star Stephen Curry, who sat with a quad injury, and Draymond Green, the 11-11 Warriors surrendered only their third loss at home on the season. At the same time, the Thunder extended its winning streak to 13.
After the win, Williams discussed what it felt like to face the Warriors in 2025.
“The only thing that's crazy to me is that you grow up watching those teams. Then, years later, you look back, I'm watching them when we were stuck in Santa Cruz for Covid, and just my whole college career, you just watch them, and now, we're kind of emulating something that they were doing. It's really cool. It's special. Then, we also get to play some of the players that were on that run. So, you never take it for granted.
“Obviously, Dray and Curry — they're not going to be playing for that much longer. So, it's cool to get these opportunities to play them. It's very surreal.”
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 38 points on 13-of-21 attempts, including 5-of-6 from deep, and 7-for-10 from the free-throw line. Jalen Williams added 22 points, six assists, one steal, and one block.
Steve Kerr compliments Thunder for their impressive record
Before facing the defending champions, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr commended the Thunder's historic start, which improved to 21-1. The Thunder won a tightly contested game after blowing a 22-point lead in the second half, fending off the Warriors in the fourth quarter.
Before tip-off, Kerr discussed what stands out most about the Thunder, per Thunder Wire's Clemente Almanza.
“Overall, a team mindset of zero agendas. Just win every night. Obviously, great talent,” Kerr said. “But I think high-IQ players. The two teams you're referring to that I was part of both had really, really high IQs individually and as a team.”
The Thunder will host the Mavericks on Friday.
