Last June, as confetti was still being swept from the Paycom Center floor, a blue-clad crowd gathered inside the Broadway 10 Bar & Chophouse to celebrate Oklahoma City’s NBA championship. Surrounded by friends and family (and a good number of their friends and family), Thunder players, coaches and staff partied well into the night. Guests were chosen from buffet tables filled with meat medallions and crab cakes. Against one wall, the Larry O’Brien trophy rested as a photo prop. The champagne that remained largely untouched in the Oklahoma City locker room (what do you expect from a title winner led by a group of 20-somethings who needed help figuring out how to pop the cork?) flowed generously into crystal glasses. A few freshly fired beer cans were scattered on the floor. In the middle of it all was Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, NBA MVP, scoring champion and Finals MVP, the fourth player to complete that trifecta in a season. Between hugs and high-fives, Gilgeous-Alexander was heard offering a promise: I can be much better.
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