Latest / Bleacher Report / SGA, Jalen Williams, & Thunder React to Winning the Finals _ NBA GameTime

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SGA, Jalen Williams, & Thunder React to Winning the Finals _ NBA GameTime · Bleacher Report

0:00
Speaker 1: Seeing these two guys, you know, be champions, but especially
0:03
Speaker 1: what SGA has done, you know as a not only
0:07
Speaker 1: a leader and a champion and a person right growing
0:10
Speaker 1: up in Canada and.
0:12
Speaker 2: Doing the thing.
0:13
Speaker 1: You know, I want to shout out to the rafters
0:15
Speaker 1: for what we started, what we built and you watching
0:18
Speaker 1: it and coming up and having this momb soluted. I
0:21
Speaker 1: gotta I gotta say that, and Jay will Way to
0:24
Speaker 1: get off.
0:25
Speaker 3: Yeah, congratulations, congratulations j Doubsha, Gilgess, Alexander as well, but
0:31
Speaker 3: almost did it right on the uclopes.
0:34
Speaker 4: So SGA, right, take us through your journey.
0:37
Speaker 3: You traded here twenty nineteen and now sitting here as
0:41
Speaker 3: an NBA champion, that journey, what this means to you,
0:44
Speaker 3: this moment as a finals MV thing.
0:50
Speaker 2: It's been a lot of ups and downs.
0:54
Speaker 5: Nights where I was like dreading competing just because like
1:00
Speaker 5: we were losing so much. And I think what's helped
1:04
Speaker 5: me get through it all is like the front office
1:06
Speaker 5: and coach just like always prioritizing winning habits, like no
1:10
Speaker 5: matter what, if it was.
1:14
Speaker 2: Me and four G league guys.
1:15
Speaker 5: Out there, like no matter what, they helped me to
1:18
Speaker 5: a high standard of behaving like a winner out there
1:20
Speaker 5: on the basketball court and off the basketball court, and
1:24
Speaker 5: now those are my habits and nobody can take those
1:26
Speaker 5: from me because those two guys were hard on me
1:28
Speaker 5: with that, and now obviously if they did those with
1:31
Speaker 5: the rest of the group, and that's why we got here.
1:32
Speaker 5: But those two guys have been very impressive throughout the
1:34
Speaker 5: thus and downs. I'm prioritizing what it takes to win,
1:37
Speaker 5: and they're a big.
1:38
Speaker 2: Reason why we got here. My biggest question is it's rare.
1:41
Speaker 6: And I've had the opportunity to play with two elite
1:44
Speaker 6: alpha male, extremely good people, extremely competitors like elite competitors,
1:51
Speaker 6: and Braun and Kyrie, and I see a lot of
1:52
Speaker 6: that in YouTube. What is about each other that you
1:55
Speaker 6: push each other in practice, that you push each other.
1:58
Speaker 2: Listen, you champs, So you in rare air, Ye, so listen,
2:01
Speaker 2: we talk about you now we have to. It does
2:03
Speaker 2: sound crazy, but you're a champion. Nothing.
2:06
Speaker 6: This is one of the best teams I've ever we
2:08
Speaker 6: have watched all year, one of the best teams we've
2:10
Speaker 6: ever seen all year. And then there are certain games
2:12
Speaker 6: where you don't play up to the standard, and then
2:15
Speaker 6: it's not two games, three games, the next game you
2:18
Speaker 6: go back better, right Like in me and Smitty and
2:21
Speaker 6: that we talked about this, the spin move you pulled
2:23
Speaker 6: out today. Were you watching film on Nie Smith and
2:26
Speaker 6: themar You didn't do that all six games and now
2:28
Speaker 6: all of a sudden today you do that every single
2:30
Speaker 6: time they put that knee on your back.
2:32
Speaker 2: Yeah, I definitely was watching film. I knew it.
2:36
Speaker 5: They were like very physical on my drives when they
2:38
Speaker 5: were bumping me, and I like to be physical as
2:40
Speaker 5: well in my jobs, and they were timing it really well,
2:42
Speaker 5: all serious. And my coach, like my skills coach, Daniel Mitchell,
2:47
Speaker 5: we talk a lot, and he uh just like just
2:50
Speaker 5: like threw a nugget out there and was like, yo, remember.
2:53
Speaker 2: Like the pump spin we work on and I was
2:55
Speaker 2: like yeah, and it clicked.
2:57
Speaker 5: At that moment, I was like, that's what's been missing,
2:59
Speaker 5: and I got free times. I was able to turn
3:01
Speaker 5: into space, find my teammates, shoot.
3:04
Speaker 2: My pull up.
3:06
Speaker 5: But yeah, all those it's a chest match up there,
3:08
Speaker 5: especially when you get to this level, and those little
3:10
Speaker 5: things help. So yeah, shout out to coach putting the
3:14
Speaker 5: tools in my back.
3:14
Speaker 2: Sorry, Jaylen. The question I had for you guys.
3:16
Speaker 7: You know, I'm looking at you guys, the success you
3:21
Speaker 7: guys had last year obviously first seed, and then you
3:23
Speaker 7: come up a little bit short. What was you two
3:26
Speaker 7: guys' mindset and conversations last summer to get to be
3:31
Speaker 7: champions this summer.
3:34
Speaker 4: For me, it's just like we always have a good
3:37
Speaker 4: dialogue of.
3:37
Speaker 8: Like you can never get too high or too low,
3:40
Speaker 8: and like nothing's ever as good or as bad as
3:42
Speaker 8: it seems. So like we go into it, nobody expects
3:45
Speaker 8: us to be the one seed throughout the whole entire year.
3:47
Speaker 8: We get into the playoffs as everybody is like first
3:49
Speaker 8: playoff experience, So instead of hanging our heads, we just
3:52
Speaker 8: looked at.
3:52
Speaker 9: Stuff we can work on and get better.
3:53
Speaker 2: And then.
3:55
Speaker 8: Basketball is a weird way of showing you the same
3:58
Speaker 8: thing that you get last year to see if you improved.
4:00
Speaker 8: And we were able to do that throughout this series,
4:02
Speaker 8: So a lot of stuff. I saw my first playoff run,
4:05
Speaker 8: I was used to it. I was ready for it.
4:07
Speaker 9: I worked on in the summer and got to this
4:08
Speaker 9: point I was ready.
4:09
Speaker 1: You know, most most teams and most people have the
4:13
Speaker 1: saying of don't get too high, don't get too low,
4:16
Speaker 1: stay even keeled, and we were here game one when
4:20
Speaker 1: you guys lost in one, and we watched all of
4:23
Speaker 1: you walk by, and all of you had the same
4:26
Speaker 1: kind of attitude like, Okay, we lost games over, we'll
4:32
Speaker 1: learned from it and get better. Is that something that's
4:35
Speaker 1: discussed in the locker room or that's just something that
4:39
Speaker 1: all of you just.
4:40
Speaker 2: Have Probably both.
4:43
Speaker 8: I think it's been discussed in the locker room so much,
4:45
Speaker 8: like especially throughout my three times, my three years here,
4:47
Speaker 8: that it's kind of like ingrained in us.
4:49
Speaker 9: And then, like I said, basketball.
4:51
Speaker 8: Has a crazy way of like showing you some LFE
4:53
Speaker 8: skills because that same exact thing happened in Denver and
4:56
Speaker 8: we had to adjust to that. So Denver hits a
4:58
Speaker 8: game winner on game one, we can't panic there. Obviously,
5:01
Speaker 8: we go to seven here, and then we literally had
5:03
Speaker 8: the exact same series.
5:04
Speaker 9: Up until this point with the same one. So we
5:06
Speaker 9: just got to learn the lessons each time it happens.
5:08
Speaker 9: And I think we do a good job at you.
5:09
Speaker 3: Know, Shay, one of the things that being around you,
5:12
Speaker 3: seeing you when you won the MVP award and your
5:15
Speaker 3: speech and how emotional you were about your family. Then
5:18
Speaker 3: Isaiah and I We've had the privilege of running into
5:20
Speaker 3: your father a few times this past week, right and
5:23
Speaker 3: understanding how close you are with all of your family members.
5:27
Speaker 3: Can you take us behind the curtain and how important
5:29
Speaker 3: it is for you and your journey and being here
5:32
Speaker 3: at the NBA Finals and hoisting this trophy and what
5:34
Speaker 3: all of those people mean to you.
5:36
Speaker 5: Yeah, Like I sacrificed a lot to get here, but
5:46
Speaker 5: like nobody sacrificed more than my family to help me
5:50
Speaker 5: get here. Like this was my dream and my goal,
5:53
Speaker 5: and they all put their I guess dreams, goals, aspirations
5:59
Speaker 5: aside so that I could achieve mine. And there's no
6:04
Speaker 5: way to pay that back besides love, and that's all
6:07
Speaker 5: that is.
6:08
Speaker 2: I know that I'm not here. I'm not the man
6:09
Speaker 2: and the basketball.
6:10
Speaker 5: Player, the father, that the husband I am without my
6:14
Speaker 5: family and the people in my inner circle. They help
6:17
Speaker 5: shape who I am. And this win is, like I
6:20
Speaker 5: said up on the podium, it's not a win just
6:22
Speaker 5: for me. It's a win for the whole family and
6:23
Speaker 5: everyone in my corner.
6:24
Speaker 7: The question I had for you, guys, Sam Presley, I
6:26
Speaker 7: was with him in San Antonio. You know you get talent,
6:30
Speaker 7: but y'all have talent and character. Can you talk about
6:32
Speaker 7: what Sam Presley has brought in the year after year
6:36
Speaker 7: for you guys to get to this point.
6:38
Speaker 5: The most impressive thing Sam does is he doesn't just
6:41
Speaker 5: like he brings in character. He doesn't just bring in
6:44
Speaker 5: basketball players. Like everyone that's come on the team, everyone
6:49
Speaker 5: that's been a part of the team, whether it's trade,
6:50
Speaker 5: whether it's draft, whether it's free agency, they all fit
6:53
Speaker 5: in like a glove, like seamlessly. And that is what
6:58
Speaker 5: you guys see out there. You guys see us connected.
7:00
Speaker 5: No matter who's on the floor. You gotta see us
7:03
Speaker 5: going on runs. You got to see us coming back
7:05
Speaker 5: from deficits. It's because the characters in the room and
7:07
Speaker 5: who he's who he's built this team around. Uh and yeah,
7:12
Speaker 5: if if he's not the best ever to do it,
7:15
Speaker 5: I don't know who is.
7:15
Speaker 2: So hell of a GM.
7:17
Speaker 4: Oh, look at what we got here the finals in front.
7:25
Speaker 2: Of it all.
7:27
Speaker 3: Hold on, there's something that two three, Yeah, Western Conference. Look,
7:35
Speaker 3: there's something you said on the podium that I want
7:37
Speaker 3: you to repeat for our audience and what this means
7:39
Speaker 3: to you but also to him as well.
7:45
Speaker 5: Like throughout the history of the NBA, like there's no
7:49
Speaker 5: one man champion.
7:51
Speaker 10: You need.
7:53
Speaker 5: You need every Every number one needs a number two,
7:55
Speaker 5: every batman needs a Robin And especially after last year,
8:01
Speaker 5: the world thought he couldn't achieve what he's achieved this
8:03
Speaker 5: this postseason run. Yes, yes, and without him we were
8:06
Speaker 5: going to the champions I wouldn't have this award, I wouldn't
8:09
Speaker 5: have the Western Conference Award. I probably wouldn't be MVP.
8:12
Speaker 5: And that's why I said on the podium that like,
8:13
Speaker 5: this award is just just as much his as it
8:15
Speaker 5: is mine. We're connected now forever for life, So don't
8:20
Speaker 5: ever think of ditching me.
8:22
Speaker 2: Whatever. Cool, my brother. I got a quick question just
8:25
Speaker 2: for you.
8:26
Speaker 6: When was that moment that you know, sometimes you're like
8:29
Speaker 6: the superstar? Am I overstepping my bounds? Am I being
8:32
Speaker 6: too aggressive? Was there a moment this season where he
8:34
Speaker 6: was like, man, you got to go, We're not gonna
8:36
Speaker 6: win if you're not your best self?
8:38
Speaker 2: Was that this year? Was it last year? When was it?
8:40
Speaker 2: When did you hear that? Okay? Yeah, they were like, hey,
8:42
Speaker 2: I wouldn't need you.
8:43
Speaker 9: To drop It was really him. I can't lie, like
8:45
Speaker 9: even when we were like.
8:47
Speaker 2: It's hard to like for me.
8:49
Speaker 8: It was like hard to like have that much responsibility,
8:51
Speaker 8: like going into your first playoffs and for him.
8:54
Speaker 9: To like kind of be like, hey, you can do
8:55
Speaker 9: it and like push through it. I think that was big.
8:57
Speaker 8: And I work out with him in the summer too,
9:00
Speaker 8: so like you get to see like why he's that
9:02
Speaker 8: good and I feel like that that definitely pushed my game.
9:06
Speaker 8: And then like during the year he just kind of
9:08
Speaker 8: let me rock. We're like he said, we're bonding. He
9:10
Speaker 8: let me go, and I'm definitely gonna let him go.
9:13
Speaker 4: So we appreciate you guys.
9:18
Speaker 3: Let's throw the accolades on their names and what they
9:20
Speaker 3: accomplished this season, scoring title, MVP Finals, MVP you said it,
9:25
Speaker 3: Channing right there on your screen, and hold on, Jay
9:28
Speaker 3: dub your year, All Star, All NBA All Defensive Team.
9:32
Speaker 4: And champion as well. Certainly great ye.
9:37
Speaker 2: Years old by the way, agreed.
9:38
Speaker 5: And he's nineteen by the way.
9:42
Speaker 3: As we get Chet home, Grand Mike up, congratulations, Chip, congratulations,
9:47
Speaker 3: check NBA champion.
9:53
Speaker 2: Looking at.
9:55
Speaker 3: So let's start with this game seven for you, right.
9:59
Speaker 3: We know how different this NBA Finals is, up and down,
10:02
Speaker 3: ebbs and flows, but you saved your best for last
10:05
Speaker 3: eighteen points, almost perfect from the field of five blocks
10:09
Speaker 3: as well. Take us through what you were feeling coming
10:13
Speaker 3: into this game seven in the way that you were
10:15
Speaker 3: able to perform.
10:17
Speaker 2: Man, I just.
10:18
Speaker 11: Wanted to do whatever it took, whatever the team needed
10:20
Speaker 11: me to do to win the basketball game, and that's
10:23
Speaker 11: what we did. It wasn't always pretty all along. It's
10:27
Speaker 11: been so hard to get here, not only just in
10:29
Speaker 11: the finals, but you know, we started training camp back
10:32
Speaker 11: in October and we did all that just for this
10:35
Speaker 11: and it's all worth it.
10:36
Speaker 2: I'm just I'm just so happy right now, Chack.
10:39
Speaker 1: Talk about the journey that all of you have been on,
10:43
Speaker 1: you know, the last couple of years. You know the
10:47
Speaker 1: heartbreaks because we see the celebration now, but some of
10:50
Speaker 1: those heartbreaking moments that really defined and brought all of
10:54
Speaker 1: you together to trust, commit and sacrifice, and now that
10:59
Speaker 1: you're here celebrate. You know, Channing and Steve and I
11:02
Speaker 1: we talk about every time we see a championship celebration,
11:05
Speaker 1: we get emotional, right, but it's really about that heartache
11:09
Speaker 1: that you had to get here.
11:11
Speaker 2: Talk about that one hundred percent.
11:13
Speaker 11: If it's something you've never been through, it's really something
11:16
Speaker 11: that you can't grasp and or a team that no
11:21
Speaker 11: matter what happens, good or bad, succeed or fail, we're
11:24
Speaker 11: gonna do it together. If we fall, we're gonna get
11:27
Speaker 11: back up together. When we win, we're gonna win together.
11:30
Speaker 11: Everything's gonna be together. And this is no different chick.
11:33
Speaker 7: The question I have for you is, when you're this skillful,
11:37
Speaker 7: how do you figure out what are you gonna do
11:39
Speaker 7: in a game? You can run guard, you can run
11:41
Speaker 7: a wing, you can shoot the three, you can play
11:44
Speaker 7: in the post, you've block shots defensively, How do you
11:47
Speaker 7: start to say where can I make my biggest impact?
11:49
Speaker 2: Because not to me, people have that type.
11:51
Speaker 7: Of skill level that you have, and for you to
11:53
Speaker 7: lock in on one what can help your team win
11:56
Speaker 7: in that situation?
11:58
Speaker 2: Honestly, just let the game tell me what to do.
12:00
Speaker 2: You know.
12:01
Speaker 11: I try to go out there and be aggressive every night,
12:03
Speaker 11: and as a competitor sometimes you always get carried away
12:06
Speaker 11: and you kind of stray off the line of you know,
12:09
Speaker 11: listening to the game, you try to enforce your will
12:11
Speaker 11: on it. But you know, I feel like I did
12:13
Speaker 11: a great job tonight letting the game tell me what
12:15
Speaker 11: it needed and going out there trying.
12:17
Speaker 2: To execute get it done. And you know it wasn't
12:20
Speaker 2: just me.
12:21
Speaker 11: Everybody tonight that touched the floor made huge plays for us,
12:23
Speaker 11: and we couldn't have got it done without every single person.
12:26
Speaker 6: Chet we talked last summer, you were all in on okay. See,
12:30
Speaker 6: you're all in about your success, their success, and how
12:32
Speaker 6: that's intertwined. Give the people some examples of how you
12:36
Speaker 6: see this, not just talk because a lot of people say, oh,
12:38
Speaker 6: I'm for the team. Y'all are psycho for each other,
12:42
Speaker 6: and you see it out there. You see it in
12:43
Speaker 6: some of the best defense we raide. We get the
12:45
Speaker 6: opportunity to watch you guys throughout the year get better
12:48
Speaker 6: and better and better. So give the fans and the
12:50
Speaker 6: people listening some examples of what you guys have done
12:53
Speaker 6: throughout the year that holds each other accountable, that brings
12:56
Speaker 6: you guys together, and that makes you believe what you're saying.
13:00
Speaker 11: Man, I've said it before, but I'll say it again. Everybody.
13:03
Speaker 11: Everybody's a winner until it's inconvenient for them. You know,
13:06
Speaker 11: everybody's a winner when they get to do what they
13:09
Speaker 11: want on the floor.
13:09
Speaker 2: Everybody's a winner when it's going good. You know, what
13:11
Speaker 2: I'm saying.
13:11
Speaker 11: But you know, when you have to sacrifice for the team,
13:16
Speaker 11: you have to do the right things off the floor
13:17
Speaker 11: to get ready for the games. That's when you find
13:19
Speaker 11: out who the real winners are and the credit I'm
13:22
Speaker 11: not going to Sam Presto. You know he's put true
13:24
Speaker 11: winners on this team in this building, and you know
13:28
Speaker 11: it really.
13:28
Speaker 2: Shows you're now part of history. Check underdog.
13:32
Speaker 4: Just hustle this stat over to me.
13:34
Speaker 3: Most blocks ever in a final game seven chit holds it.
13:38
Speaker 3: That's gonna be on your legacy for the rest of
13:40
Speaker 3: your career. That when you think about your effort coming
13:44
Speaker 3: back from injury this year, coming back from injury two
13:46
Speaker 3: years ago, and you see a stat like that as
13:49
Speaker 3: you sit here as a champion, how rewarding is that?
13:54
Speaker 2: Man?
13:54
Speaker 11: Honestly, I could care less about all the stats of
13:56
Speaker 11: the records, you know.
13:58
Speaker 2: I love that. I love that man.
14:01
Speaker 11: You know, if I had that record and we didn't
14:02
Speaker 11: win it w that meant anything to me, So we
14:05
Speaker 11: wouldn't be interviewing you. So I'm just I'm just so happy,
14:10
Speaker 11: you know, for the city. I'm happy for Clay, happy
14:13
Speaker 11: for Presty, I'm happy for all the dudes who put
14:16
Speaker 11: in so much work to get here, the sports staff.
14:18
Speaker 11: You know, there's been a long wait, you know, not
14:21
Speaker 11: only this season, but going back in history. And I'm
14:24
Speaker 11: just so happy to be able to share this moment
14:26
Speaker 11: with the city, chick.
14:27
Speaker 1: When you talk about the city and the fans, right
14:31
Speaker 1: and giving that to the city and the fans, Like
14:35
Speaker 1: if you can just tell us, like before the game,
14:38
Speaker 1: right when they had the buses painted and everything else,
14:42
Speaker 1: and the confidence that you guys came into Gain seven with,
14:46
Speaker 1: was that more about the fans?
14:48
Speaker 2: Was that more about the team?
14:50
Speaker 11: It's everything One doesn't happen without the other, you know
14:53
Speaker 11: what I'm saying. So we're so grateful to have the fans.
14:55
Speaker 11: They bring it every single night. They brought it.
14:58
Speaker 2: Tonight, there's no different.
14:59
Speaker 11: I'm so happy you got to you got to watch
15:01
Speaker 11: a high level game like that, and uh, you know
15:04
Speaker 11: it's it's gonna be a heck of a night in
15:06
Speaker 11: Oklahoma City tonight.
15:07
Speaker 2: Okay, okay, alright, alright, now what you doing? I love
15:11
Speaker 2: the party, yet ask me you'll go party everywhere you
15:16
Speaker 2: own this city now?
15:17
Speaker 6: Man, Like it's I just hope that you understand that
15:20
Speaker 6: this has been an amazing season for us to.
15:22
Speaker 2: Watch you guys grow. Uh.
15:24
Speaker 6: There's been some ups and downs, some games that we go,
15:26
Speaker 6: what are y'all thinking to go?
15:28
Speaker 2: Oh? There they go?
15:29
Speaker 6: And so just from my point of view, obviously just
15:32
Speaker 6: retiring six years ago, it has been a joy to
15:35
Speaker 6: see your guys' development and growth and your and your
15:38
Speaker 6: ability to tighten up the harder situations get So, man, listen,
15:43
Speaker 6: I don't have any more questions.
15:44
Speaker 2: I just want you to enjoyed in Bruskis. Have go
15:46
Speaker 2: have some fun man ring one more time.
15:49
Speaker 11: Oh you know, I don't want to hold it. That's
15:50
Speaker 11: not ours, but I just want.
15:52
Speaker 4: To you got one on the way, shed hold and
15:54
Speaker 4: check it out.
15:55
Speaker 2: That blings. Make sure y'all a little bigger than that.
15:57
Speaker 1: You know what.
15:58
Speaker 2: I'll talk to Clay about. It's not coming out of
16:01
Speaker 2: my pocket. Just make sure you get another one one
16:03
Speaker 2: ain't No, man, won't worry about that tomorrow.
16:07
Speaker 4: I wanted from the G League.
16:09
Speaker 3: Now he's here, Mark Dagnauld and Alex Caruso together. Now
16:14
Speaker 3: they are champions with the Oklahoma City Thunder for the
16:18
Speaker 3: first time in franchise history. Second championship for you, my friend.
16:22
Speaker 3: So take us back to when Mark Dagnaut was coaching
16:25
Speaker 3: you in the G League to hear now being a
16:28
Speaker 3: champion with him.
16:28
Speaker 10: Yeah, I got a great picture that I'm gonna post there.
16:31
Speaker 2: That's the one. That's the one.
16:32
Speaker 10: I'm gonna post that one with the with a new
16:34
Speaker 10: picture of us to show.
16:36
Speaker 2: It looked like you're saying what you really mean. I was.
16:39
Speaker 9: I was.
16:40
Speaker 2: I was.
16:40
Speaker 10: I was a lot younger and immature, more immature than
16:44
Speaker 10: I probably wasn't agreeing with whatever he said. You know,
16:46
Speaker 10: it's probably like my twelfth game of professional basketball and
16:49
Speaker 10: I didn't know what was going on. But yeah, it's
16:51
Speaker 10: super cool just to be able to share this with
16:52
Speaker 10: him again.
16:53
Speaker 4: Yeah, watching you play, it's like run through a brick wall.
16:56
Speaker 6: I got your coach, they say, Man, listen, known you
16:59
Speaker 6: for a long time. I remember, you know, going to
17:02
Speaker 6: the Lakers and we have any practices with some amazingly
17:05
Speaker 6: talented players, and I remember texting my Cleveland buddies, have
17:08
Speaker 6: to get traded.
17:09
Speaker 2: You got to dude, Ac is different.
17:10
Speaker 6: I mean, you just and I'm just gonna sit here
17:13
Speaker 6: and singing praises as a champion and champion your two
17:15
Speaker 6: times I'm only once.
17:18
Speaker 2: Sounds better two times but man.
17:20
Speaker 6: I just think when you came here and that the
17:23
Speaker 6: opportunity to play on this team, what did you see
17:26
Speaker 6: that they needed? And how do you approach the game
17:29
Speaker 6: from your perspective versus the younger guy's perspective.
17:33
Speaker 10: Honestly, whenever the trade happened, I mean my immediate thoughts
17:36
Speaker 10: were like, I'm gonna fit in great with this team
17:39
Speaker 10: because I think all the things that I do are
17:41
Speaker 10: all the things that they kind of needed, you know,
17:42
Speaker 10: some of the intangible stuff, the the filler, you know,
17:47
Speaker 10: you know, make plays, make winning plays, cover for guys,
17:51
Speaker 10: move the ball, create good to good shots, make open
17:54
Speaker 10: shots when when they're there. Like, I just felt like
17:56
Speaker 10: I fit with the team really well. And then getting
17:59
Speaker 10: here and seeing the competitive drive that everybody had and
18:03
Speaker 10: you know, the mentality to be great for a young team,
18:07
Speaker 10: it was special. And so for that from that point on,
18:10
Speaker 10: like I just I was, I was ten toes down,
18:12
Speaker 10: like ready to go to war with these guys, and
18:13
Speaker 10: we grew up over the year and through the postseason,
18:15
Speaker 10: and now I'm here with y'all.
18:17
Speaker 1: You know, I watched you at Ohio State play and
18:19
Speaker 1: when you when you came into the I would say
18:23
Speaker 1: Summer League. The way you played in Summer League, you
18:27
Speaker 1: were always different and you were never really trying to
18:30
Speaker 1: fit in, but trying to find some guys who compete.
18:35
Speaker 2: And play as hard as you.
18:37
Speaker 1: And I want to congratulate you on never changing your mentality,
18:41
Speaker 1: never compromise, and never change in your game, because over
18:45
Speaker 1: the years you could have said, Hey, I'm just gonna
18:49
Speaker 1: become like a score and I'm gonna just start working
18:51
Speaker 1: on scoring, but every year you wouldn't be.
18:53
Speaker 2: Here talking to you right now. But that's what I
18:56
Speaker 2: want to that's what I want to tail the troplegs.
19:00
Speaker 2: I was started picking pops at chanting.
19:03
Speaker 1: That's what I want to tell the folks about how
19:05
Speaker 1: how important it is to be a good teammate and
19:09
Speaker 1: a role player to be a champion.
19:11
Speaker 10: Yeah, I mean winning basketball is winning basketball, Like there's
19:14
Speaker 10: no way, there's no way to change that.
19:17
Speaker 2: At the end of the day.
19:18
Speaker 10: It takes what it takes, and it takes, you know,
19:20
Speaker 10: the fundamentals of the game. It takes boxing out, it
19:22
Speaker 10: takes rotations on defense, communicating, moving the ball, being unselfish,
19:26
Speaker 10: and I think all those things I was really good
19:29
Speaker 10: at and I found a way to be a leade
19:32
Speaker 10: at them, and then through the journey of getting to
19:35
Speaker 10: the next level and finding a way on each different team,
19:38
Speaker 10: started to work on my offense a little bit, started
19:40
Speaker 10: to work on different things defensively and learning from older
19:42
Speaker 10: players and better players. And from there, I just figured
19:45
Speaker 10: out that there's a spot for me in this league
19:47
Speaker 10: and there's a real like, there's a real spot for
19:50
Speaker 10: me to make a difference, Like I'm not just another guy.
19:52
Speaker 10: Yes and shout shout out to Miles Simon Miles list
19:57
Speaker 10: and to remind me when I was on two ways,
19:59
Speaker 10: like I can't just go out there and be.
20:00
Speaker 2: Another guy, Like I have to go out there and
20:02
Speaker 2: make a difference and stand out.
20:04
Speaker 10: And a lot of that just stems from trying to
20:06
Speaker 10: win basketball games and being super competitive obviously.
20:09
Speaker 2: Yeah, well, Alex Chris said it.
20:11
Speaker 7: You know, I'm yelling in the green where watching you
20:13
Speaker 7: play because all the different type of hustle plays you make.
20:16
Speaker 7: But I want to ask you this question and congratulate
20:18
Speaker 7: you watching you throughout your career, but you've been around
20:21
Speaker 7: a long time. Can you tell us watching this young
20:25
Speaker 7: guy shake gilg is Alexander, what makes him different at
20:28
Speaker 7: such a young age.
20:30
Speaker 10: It's just it's you know, obviously he has you know,
20:33
Speaker 10: all the greats they have, like the work ethic and
20:36
Speaker 10: natural talent and the athletic ability, but like his his
20:40
Speaker 10: poise mixed with his competitiveness is just like it's a
20:44
Speaker 10: it's a tough.
20:45
Speaker 2: Combo for guys.
20:46
Speaker 10: Like he's not rattled like you'll see during the year
20:49
Speaker 10: and during the game, like he will get packed and
20:53
Speaker 10: he'll get fal going a lot.
20:54
Speaker 2: He won't complain.
20:55
Speaker 10: He just goes to the next play and then he'll
20:56
Speaker 10: probably get a steal and come down and get a
20:58
Speaker 10: bucket and then he's just is his mentality to compete
21:01
Speaker 10: on every possession and not worthy not really worry about
21:06
Speaker 10: what happened on the last one and what's going on
21:08
Speaker 10: like that, Like that's that's the head of the snake
21:10
Speaker 10: for our team. And we follow him in that aspect
21:13
Speaker 10: of just going out there and trying to get it
21:15
Speaker 10: every single night.
21:15
Speaker 2: So he's not like chen.
21:17
Speaker 4: No, no, no, we gotta let you go.
21:22
Speaker 3: Known as the caruse Show, Alex Caruso, congression, you time NBA.
21:27
Speaker 4: Champion, Thank you for spending some time with us.
21:30
Speaker 3: You now NBA champion Head coach Mark Dagna. When you
21:34
Speaker 3: hear that as part of your title for the rest
21:37
Speaker 3: of your career, the rest of your life.
21:38
Speaker 4: How does that feel, my.
21:39
Speaker 12: Friend, It's amazing. I'm happy for the team. I'm happy
21:42
Speaker 12: for the guys. I wanted this so bad for them.
21:43
Speaker 12: They deserve it. They do everything right, professional competitive team first,
21:49
Speaker 12: so I'm excited for them.
21:50
Speaker 9: I really wanted this for him.
21:52
Speaker 1: Coach, when you when you started to go into the
21:56
Speaker 1: coaching profession and now you win in the champion ship,
22:00
Speaker 1: if you started in the G League in terms of
22:02
Speaker 1: the NBA, talk about your journey, the things that you
22:05
Speaker 1: learn and the knowledge that you are applying to the
22:09
Speaker 1: team right now with the players that you're coaching. Because
22:12
Speaker 1: to be a championship coach in the NBA, you're part
22:16
Speaker 1: of that elite group.
22:18
Speaker 2: Now, yep.
22:18
Speaker 1: The journey to get there and the knowledge and wisdom
22:21
Speaker 1: that you had to have to get there. How special
22:24
Speaker 1: is that to you? And talk about the journey to
22:27
Speaker 1: get there.
22:27
Speaker 12: Yeah, I mean, I'm incredibly grateful. I've said this many times,
22:30
Speaker 12: but if you replayed my life ten million times, this
22:33
Speaker 12: would only happen once. And I'm aware of that. I've
22:37
Speaker 12: been given great opportunities and especially in this organization. The
22:40
Speaker 12: opportunity to coach in the G League and be here
22:43
Speaker 12: as long as I have with the support that I've had,
22:46
Speaker 12: is amazing, and I'm just incredibly grateful that I get
22:51
Speaker 12: to coach here and I get to coach players like
22:53
Speaker 12: Lou and the rest of these guys, they're.
22:55
Speaker 2: Oh kind of du well, let's whole man him play.
23:02
Speaker 3: Let's bring Lou Dort into the conversation, because when we
23:05
Speaker 3: talk about this team, this culture, there are things that
23:09
Speaker 3: you bring on the floor night in and night out.
23:11
Speaker 3: And I think about a game in November which we
23:14
Speaker 3: had with you and Lou Dort. You didn't let James
23:16
Speaker 3: Harden cross half court, and we call it the Dorcher chamber, right,
23:20
Speaker 3: So the way that you defend, how much pride do
23:25
Speaker 3: you take in being the Dort Chamber and bringing that
23:27
Speaker 3: for your team?
23:28
Speaker 2: A lot? A lot?
23:29
Speaker 13: Honestly, I mean, that's my identity. That's why I know
23:31
Speaker 13: I can bring to this team every night. And then
23:33
Speaker 13: you know, shout out to my coaching staff to put
23:36
Speaker 13: in that in my head since I got here, and
23:37
Speaker 13: then you know, knowing that, you know, I can really
23:39
Speaker 13: impact the floor if I do a big job on
23:41
Speaker 13: night on the floor, and then you know, I'm really
23:42
Speaker 13: grateful for them.
23:43
Speaker 1: You know, I was talking to your agent back and forth,
23:45
Speaker 1: and I don't know if he was giving you the
23:47
Speaker 1: messages that I was sending to you. Did you get
23:49
Speaker 1: any of them about defending and working and setting the tones? Yeah,
23:55
Speaker 1: I mean being a Hongry lion and coming down and
23:57
Speaker 1: shutting people out.
23:58
Speaker 13: Yeah, I mean honestly that that was That was my
24:01
Speaker 13: way to gain playing time on first you know, when
24:02
Speaker 13: I first got to the league. So you know, I
24:05
Speaker 13: just put my head down and I do it every night,
24:07
Speaker 13: and then you know, I got recognized for sure. I
24:10
Speaker 13: got first Team this year, which is great, but you
24:11
Speaker 13: know that's that's that's time.
24:12
Speaker 2: I take a lot of proudet on.
24:13
Speaker 7: And you know, every every night, lou Dard, you know
24:15
Speaker 7: you went to that great school, Arizona State. Yeah, I
24:25
Speaker 7: just want to I've been watching you and covering you
24:28
Speaker 7: since then. Your defense has been there, but I want
24:30
Speaker 7: you to talk about how you've worked.
24:31
Speaker 2: So much on that offensive vent.
24:34
Speaker 7: You look so comfortable now and everything is flowing on
24:36
Speaker 7: both into the court right now.
24:38
Speaker 13: I would say it's just experience. And then you know,
24:41
Speaker 13: Coach Schmark been really hard on me in the first
24:44
Speaker 13: first couple of years I got here, you know, but
24:47
Speaker 13: you know it's been great just knowing the game and
24:48
Speaker 13: knowing some of the stuff that I can do to
24:50
Speaker 13: to impact the team honestly, and then you know, I
24:53
Speaker 13: just got to be patient and always wait for the
24:54
Speaker 13: right shot. And then you know, I really trust my
24:55
Speaker 13: team has to find me all the time.
24:57
Speaker 1: You know when you say he was hard on you, right,
24:58
Speaker 1: because we know a lot of in this league they
25:02
Speaker 1: don't accept coaching right and they think coaching is criticism
25:07
Speaker 1: as opposed of wanting you to be better. Can you too,
25:10
Speaker 1: just talk to us a little bit about some of
25:13
Speaker 1: the things that help you grow and coach.
25:15
Speaker 2: What did you see in him?
25:17
Speaker 12: I mean, what I've seen in him is he's an
25:19
Speaker 12: elite competitor. You know, there's not a night he doesn't compete.
25:23
Speaker 12: There's a fear I said all along. You know from
25:26
Speaker 12: the beginning, our confidence comes from Shay, Our fearlessness comes
25:29
Speaker 12: from lou. This is a young team and we've been
25:31
Speaker 12: a young team, and he helps us stick our chest
25:33
Speaker 12: out and he's got unbelievable humility. Not every coach in
25:37
Speaker 12: the NBA can operate one hundred percent capacity, and I
25:40
Speaker 12: can operate like that because of these guys and the
25:43
Speaker 12: way they operate, the humility, the team first nature of competitiveness,
25:46
Speaker 12: and he's the ultimate embodiment of that.
25:48
Speaker 3: Coach, when I hear you say young team, second youngest
25:51
Speaker 3: team to ever win an NBA championship, and Sam Presty
25:55
Speaker 3: said it a little while ago, he said, we might
25:57
Speaker 3: be young, but.
25:58
Speaker 4: Our characteristics are maturity. What does he mean by that?
26:01
Speaker 3: And what are you seeing these guys that you guys
26:03
Speaker 3: draft and develop in that way?
26:06
Speaker 12: I just I've said many times I use the word uncommon.
26:09
Speaker 12: I started using it with them a couple of years ago,
26:10
Speaker 12: and I've I've said it publicly since they're uncommon in
26:14
Speaker 12: professional sports.
26:15
Speaker 2: I mean, these guys.
26:15
Speaker 12: Are rare the way they operate, just how competitive they are,
26:18
Speaker 12: our team first, they are, how professional they are, They
26:21
Speaker 12: check all the boxes in terms of makeup, and they
26:24
Speaker 12: put the wind at our back as an organization to
26:26
Speaker 12: be able to, you know, help them grow and nurture them.
26:29
Speaker 12: And they deserve so much credit for this run.
26:32
Speaker 6: Coach, My question is this there, These are young men,
26:35
Speaker 6: right and obviously you guys are champions. When was that
26:38
Speaker 6: moment where you looked and you go, oh, I got
26:40
Speaker 6: something different, and did you adjust your coaching to go? Okay,
26:44
Speaker 6: I don't need to you. I'm just saying, dude, don't
26:46
Speaker 6: look young. You know what I mean by that.
26:53
Speaker 2: It's like now I don't have to I could talk
26:55
Speaker 2: to you different. Yeah.
26:56
Speaker 12: Early, early, early, I mean, I said to Lou on
27:00
Speaker 12: stage or wherever we were. You know, this place was
27:02
Speaker 12: empty as COVID the first year, you know, and we've
27:06
Speaker 12: literally built this from the studs with this team, and
27:10
Speaker 12: it was very clear early that something special was going
27:12
Speaker 12: on and we just didn't have everything we needed to
27:15
Speaker 12: be you know what we are now. But like I
27:17
Speaker 12: said him, k Rich and Shake Olszaner, those three guys,
27:22
Speaker 12: you know, give us our foundation as a team. We've
27:24
Speaker 12: added a lot of great players. There's a reason we
27:25
Speaker 12: are where we are. But I give these guys a
27:28
Speaker 12: lot of credit. Their fingerprints are all.
27:30
Speaker 2: Over this thing.
27:30
Speaker 11: You know.
27:31
Speaker 2: Let me let me ask this.
27:32
Speaker 1: You know, you you talk about you know, high draft
27:35
Speaker 1: hicks and great elite players in our league, coaches and
27:40
Speaker 1: so forth and so on. But to the fans, Lou,
27:43
Speaker 1: where was you drafted?
27:47
Speaker 2: Undrafted? First team all defense? Right? First two started from the.
27:51
Speaker 1: G League, right, So that that championship DNA is not
27:57
Speaker 1: necessarily always recognized, but when the champions get together, you
28:02
Speaker 1: guys recognize it. And what did you recognize in your
28:05
Speaker 1: coach when you first.
28:08
Speaker 2: I just know he was he was real, and then.
28:11
Speaker 13: He was real and then you know he knew that
28:14
Speaker 13: that that the talent that we had, honestly, and then
28:16
Speaker 13: you know he taught us from the beginning, and then
28:18
Speaker 13: you know from the bad times that we had, you know,
28:21
Speaker 13: from my first couple of years, I mean, he was
28:22
Speaker 13: just real and he was like, distrust the process and
28:25
Speaker 13: it's going to happen, and then you know, you always
28:27
Speaker 13: got to do it as a team and together, and
28:28
Speaker 13: then you know he's he's real, really big.
28:30
Speaker 2: He's been really big on that.
28:31
Speaker 1: So the bad time that you had in the last
28:33
Speaker 1: playoff series, so you're sitting here talking to a guy
28:36
Speaker 1: that threw the ball away in the playoff series and
28:39
Speaker 1: they play it every talk about you know now in
28:42
Speaker 1: that Dallas series, right, talk about how you overcame from
28:46
Speaker 1: that moment.
28:48
Speaker 2: You know, just knowing that.
28:49
Speaker 13: The playoff is if there's a lot of ups and downs,
28:51
Speaker 13: and you know, you know, if you get you want
28:52
Speaker 13: to get the job done.
28:53
Speaker 2: You got to do it together.
28:54
Speaker 13: And then you know, not having a lot of experience
28:58
Speaker 13: against Dallas, and then then I feel like it just
29:00
Speaker 13: helped us and shaped us honestly for this run and
29:03
Speaker 13: play that we had this year, and then it really helped.
29:05
Speaker 2: Yeah, coach.
29:06
Speaker 7: Question for me is like, you know, after that Dallas series,
29:08
Speaker 7: you were number one seed and obviously you lose, and
29:10
Speaker 7: you go into the summer bringing Hard and Sign and Caruso.
29:14
Speaker 2: What did they bring to the table for you guys?
29:17
Speaker 7: We know what they could do on the court, but
29:18
Speaker 7: off the court.
29:20
Speaker 12: Yeah, I've said this many times, it felt like in Lou.
29:23
Speaker 12: I don't know if you agree with this, it felt
29:25
Speaker 12: like they've been here for three years. You know, they
29:28
Speaker 12: just they hopped on a moving train and they were,
29:31
Speaker 12: you know, respectful of the team's uh you know track
29:34
Speaker 12: to that point, but they're also aggressive. And then you know,
29:37
Speaker 12: adding those two guys and then the development and growth
29:40
Speaker 12: of the returning guys, you know, that's that was really
29:42
Speaker 12: what propelled us. You know, they were big time, but
29:45
Speaker 12: the guys like Lou, everybody got better, you know from
29:47
Speaker 12: that playoff experience, and you know that's why we had
29:50
Speaker 12: the season we did.
29:51
Speaker 3: You know, lou I look at your relationship that's been
29:54
Speaker 3: reported with you and SGA, and I asked him a
29:56
Speaker 3: question when he won the MVP, right, and I said,
29:59
Speaker 3: should you be considered the face of the NBA? What
30:02
Speaker 3: do you think about SGA as the face of the
30:05
Speaker 3: NBA now winning Finals, MVP, the scoring title, MVP, and
30:08
Speaker 3: you guys as champions.
30:10
Speaker 13: Yeah, I mean, I tell it like that, it's never
30:12
Speaker 13: up to us. But honestly, if you look back to
30:15
Speaker 13: the season that he had, honestly, I think he's all
30:17
Speaker 13: the feminine. I don't know if I am about to say,
30:19
Speaker 13: but I think he's all the feminine that after the
30:23
Speaker 13: season that he had, I think he's all the fam.
30:26
Speaker 2: Honestly, and then he earned that.
30:27
Speaker 13: But being offends of the league now, I really feel
30:30
Speaker 13: like this is up to y'all. But for us, you know,
30:33
Speaker 13: we think he's the best player in the world, and
30:34
Speaker 13: then you know, we give him a lot of credit
30:36
Speaker 13: for that.
30:37
Speaker 4: Scoring title, MVP Finals MVP.
30:39
Speaker 2: I guess he can stick his just out. Yeah there's more.
30:42
Speaker 4: Mark lou Dor, thank you for your time.
30:44
Speaker 3: Congratulations you're twenty twenty five champions and head coach as well.
30:48
Speaker 2: We appreciate you.
30:49
Speaker 9: Thank you guys for having us