The Oklahoma City Thunder cruised to a 123-87 victory over the San Antonio Spurs in the 2023-2024 NBA regular season on Friday (Dec. 15) at the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City.레모나토토

The game, which featured a rookie showdown between 2023 first-round pick Victor Wambanyama and 2022 second-round pick Chet Holmgren, ended in a crisp victory for Oklahoma City, led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

In just 28 minutes of action, Gilgeous-Alexander had 28 points, six rebounds, five assists, and seven steals, and was a huge presence on the offensive end.

Gillespie, who came to Oklahoma City via trade from the Clippers in 2019 and has matured into the team’s young ace, averaged 31.4 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 5.5 assists last season, leading the Thunder to a play-in tournament berth and accelerating Oklahoma City’s rebuild.

This season, Gilgeous-Alexander is still going strong, averaging 29.3 points, 6.9 rebounds and 5.9 assists. He’s shooting 53.4 percent from the field, which is better than last season (51.0 percent), and he’s averaging 2.6 steals per game, showing why he’s been called the next big thing since he was a rookie.

Riding the winged lion that is Gillespie, Oklahoma City has maintained its early season momentum and is 7-4 on the season, good for fifth place in the Western Conference.

The starting lineup is pretty deep, with Josh Giddy, Lugentz Dot, Jaylen Williams, and Holmgren centered around Gilgeous-Alexander.

Add to that a bench that includes three-point shooter Isaiah Joe, big man Kenrich Williams, former Euroleague MVP Vasilije Micic, and the 10th overall pick in the 2023 draft, Kayson Wallace.

Now a Western Conference dark horse to be reckoned with, Oklahoma City will look to make it three in a row when they host Golden State on Nov. 17.