Following their historic 24-1 start, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder have hit a roadblock, dropping four of their last six games.
Perhaps more concerningly, three of those losses have come against one of their premier Western Conference rivals, the San Antonio Spurs. The latest, Thursday’s 117-102 Christmas Day home defeat, prompted the superstar guard to make a candid admission.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Speaks Out After Thunder’s Christmas Day Letdown vs. Spurs
After taking an early eight-point lead, OKC’s offense went ice cold for the remainder of the contest. San Antonio quickly built a double-digit second-quarter advantage and never looked back, holding the Thunder to just 37-for-95 shooting (38.9%), including 11-for-44 from 3-point range (25%).
Spurs star point guard De’Aaron Fox led the way with a game-high 29 points, four rebounds, three assists, and three triples, shooting a blistering 12-for-19 (63.2%).
Meanwhile, his co-star Victor Wembanyama chipped in a 19-point, 11-rebound double-double off the bench, continuing his unexpected sixth-man role since returning from a left calf strain.
Conversely, Gilgeous-Alexander was held to just 22 points on 7-for-19 shooting (36.8%), well below his 32.1 points per game scoring average. The reigning league MVP and NBA Finals MVP narrowly extended his 20-point games streak to 102 contests as the Thunder’s league-best defense (104.6 defensive rating) struggled to contain Wembanyama and Co.
THREE. STRAIGHT. W’S.
Spurs make it 3 in a row vs. the Thunder.
The best plays from the three wins ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/61XEsfzwKd
— NBA (@NBA) December 25, 2025
After falling to San Antonio for the third time in the past two weeks, with the last two losses coming by 15-plus points, Gilgeous-Alexander bluntly assessed his team’s status as the clear-cut West favorite.
“We have to get better as a group. You don’t lose to a team three times in a row in a short span without them being better than you,” Gilgeous-Alexander said postgame. “So, we have to get better. We have to look in the mirror, and that’s everybody from top to bottom, if we want to reach our ultimate goal.”
“You don’t lose to a team, three times in a row … without them being better than you.” – Shai on the Spurs pic.twitter.com/GXfO3p0qUL
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) December 26, 2025
As for Wembanyama, he likened the Spurs and Thunder’s burgeoning rivalry to a “playoff series,” but opted not to “say too much” about his squad’s tactical insights after its eighth straight victory.
The intraconference foes will meet for their fourth of five matchups this season on Jan. 13 in OKC, with San Antonio (23-7) looking to further close the gap against the West’s top seed (26-5).
