After dropping a tight 103-101 contest to the Toronto Raptors, the Oklahoma City Thunder aren’t hitting the panic button-and for good reason. Despite missing over half their rotation due to injuries, the defending champs still hold the best record in the NBA. Two straight home losses sting, sure, but this team has earned the benefit of the doubt.
Aaron Wiggins, speaking at practice the next morning, kept things in perspective. His message?
Zoom out. There’s a long road ahead, and one bump-or even two-doesn’t derail the journey.
“There are 50 games left,” Wiggins said. “So, the first aspect is just realizing that you can't get caught up in the moment or a small sample size of games that might not have gone your way. We're talking about two losses in a row, but we're 37-10 now.”
And that’s the key. The Thunder aren’t spiraling-they’re recalibrating. Wiggins emphasized growth over panic, pointing to the stretch ahead as a chance to keep building, win or lose.
“There’s a lot of opportunity for us to continue to grow, and learn from our losses, and our wins,” he added. “We can't take last night’s loss with us tomorrow into the game. So, we gotta make sure we move on, and just learn what we can, and be ready to go.”
It’s worth noting: the Thunder hadn’t lost back-to-back home games since November 2023. That’s a testament to the kind of consistency that wins titles-and the kind of resilience this group has shown time and again.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the reigning MVP and All-Star leader of this squad, echoed that sentiment. For him, the loss to Toronto was one that slipped through their fingers-a reminder of how razor-thin the margins can be in this league, especially late in games.
“Personally, it felt like we had control of the game. We were getting good looks, offensively,” Gilgeous-Alexander said.
“They had 103 points tonight. That usually does it for us.
It was just one of those nights.”
That’s the kind of game that keeps players up thinking about one missed rotation, one shot that rimmed out, one loose ball that didn’t bounce their way. But it’s also the kind of game that doesn’t define a season-especially not one where the Thunder are sitting atop the standings.
Next up: the Pelicans. Oklahoma City closes out a three-game home stand at Paycom Center on Tuesday, and there’s no doubt this team is eager to get back in the win column.
With Shai leading the charge and Wiggins preaching perspective, the Thunder aren’t just weathering the storm-they’re learning from it. And that’s what championship-caliber teams do.