Practice Media Availability | NBA Finals Media Day Podiums | June 10, 2025 | OKC Thunder

Practice Media Availability | NBA Finals Media Day Podiums | June 10, 2025 | OKC Thunder

we know SGA broke the record for more most points sport in game ones and two can you talk a little bit about that and how that has been opening up open up more more looks for you guys uh obviously Shay’s been balling uh been no different than what we’ve seen from him all year all throughout the playoffs uh and he does a really good job of uh you know making the right play when the defense forces him to and uh you know he’s been creating a lot of good looks for uh everybody else on the floor and uh you know he’s done a really good job of finding the right balance between um you know punishing the defense when they don’t make him force him to pass and then making the right play when when they do and uh it’s been good for us so we got to keep it going chad what do you think makes you guys so good at paint protection and rim protection in general as a team um I’d say it’s kind of our defense as a whole uh it starts you know with pressuring the ball before across half court stopping teams uh from scoring in transition so we can set our defense uh defeating uh actions you know whether screens or slide outs or whatever just kind of controlling them within those and then it it makes it harder to get to the paint in first place uh you know post up shell fighting the catch whatever it might be uh you know it starts early and then uh you know making sure that we have each other’s back at the rim uh if somebody does get deep how long into your conversations with Mark did it take you to realize that that was his thing his identity on defense was trying to keep teams away from the paint in the basket yeah um I wouldn’t say our whole identity is that but uh at the end of the day the best shot in basketball is dunk you know it’s the highest percentage so it’s like you want to make shots at the rim tough uh and then you want to try and eliminate them as much as possible uh you know you eliminate a lot of uh opportunities to foul as well uh when you keep players from getting down near the paint um it’s a lot easier to guard without fouling farther you get from the basket and uh it’s just about forcing uh the least efficient shots and trusting that over the course of the game the best chance to win so uh he has different philosophies on how to get that done uh it changes depending on who we’re playing what they’re trying to do but at the end of the day the goal is to force teams to do uh you know do things that give us a chance to win so last game was the first time you guys have two picks in your lineup against Pacers how comfortable how comfortable were you i felt good out there uh you know obviously it’s easier to play with another big on the floor when they’re skilled and uh they can move around and communicate and and kind of flip-flop places uh you know which is big for us to have uh hard out there uh you know next to me at times and at the end of the day whatever coach asks us to do it’s our job to be ready for that and go out there and execute it so that’s what we try to do what’s it like guarding Miles Turner in those single big lineups getting age it’s experience you better you know gurvier than you what What’s the sort of those keys um I’d say the biggest key is understanding what they’re trying to accomplish as a team and then understanding what we’re trying to accomplish as a team uh and then from there you can uh try and break it down to situations where you need to understand what he’s trying to do and then you’re trying to counter that so uh you know obviously he’s a he’s a skilled player uh you know he can step out and shoot it he can put the ball on the floor a little bit and uh you know make some foreign plays so you just have to understand what his tendencies are and uh you know try to take with work mark at May three and um how do you stay locked in now that the energy is just to the point uh you know understand that uh what we’re trying to do doesn’t change uh it’s we’re just in a different arena um obviously we would love to have our our our fans uh backing us and cheering for us in the arena but uh at the end of the day even though we’re on the road we still have to you know come in with the same principles uh the same mentality and uh you know understand that uh you know we’re trying to win basketball yeah couple more guys we as have evolved sorry you guys have evolved a lot over the course of this postseason learning for each experience just looking back on it how much do you feel like you guys have grown as a team throughout all of this oh we’ve grown a lot um you know playoffs are a very emotional time uh every time something good happens you feel like you’re on top of the world every time something bad happens you feel like it’s all falling apart so uh you know just going through all those experiences has really kind of brought us together um in that way and then also we’ve seen a lot of different things on the basketball court that uh you know has helped prepared us for the next time that we’ll see it and uh you know that’s going to continue uh as the series goes on and we just have to uh kind of take the same approach we’ve taken the whole way and um keep it playing so after game one I wonder uh what kind of head space were you in you know you got a tough play closure makes some choice he’s a little took you off the full window than normal like we’re talking about the final stage and let you be more pronounced as far as how it hit you where were you in and how he did why obviously back posture um obviously like I wasn’t I wasn’t happy with uh you know the way that I had played in that game and I wasn’t happy with the fact that we lost the game obviously so I just tried to um you know take the take that emotional feeling I guess and uh you know not let it kind of grow up into something that uh was detrimental to me uh going forward and then just look at where I could be better uh and try and go out there in game two and be better understanding that it’s a series uh you have to try and get better as the series goes on uh you know whether you play good or bad uh had to understand that you know I mean I’ve seen aggression before in all types of different ways so it wasn’t really new to me and you know I just got to keep that understanding going forward whether it’s good or bad I just got to continue to keep jumping away from empty besides So um ask Shay is like what he’s learned about Shay play with him has so much energy what what is Shay like off the court yeah no he’s right um he’s like whenever shit’s somewhere you you’ll know he’s there like he’s jokester he’ll joke around a lot he’ll laugh a lot um you know um like so like whenever he gets on the court that’s when he’s switched up to like being a serious guy but off the court he’s just a joke in loop can you please describe your role uh for DCM to the NBA finals defending you know possibly the best uh offensive line in the other team in the entire series so how how tough is it going to be for you guys uh tomorrow being here I think for the sec third time in the year playing here in Indiana yeah um I mean um yeah I know I know my role is is not easy but um you know that’s that’s something I I’m always willing to do for my for my team and uh um I mean it’s like I said it’s not just me it’s just the whole team you know guarding their their their best players so um you know we’ll we’ll always go out there and try and compete and then you know we know it’s going to be a tough envir environment but uh we’ll be ready ready for the tomorrow say that again ready for the swaggy tomorrow for the what the swag the swag the swag oh the swag oh yeah always always finals lv lv bag in the last game you know Dan the entire switch it up a little bit yeah when did you when did you start to realize how effective you could be defending screens particular time uh I would say I noticed that my rookie year honestly um I mean I noticed everything about my defense my rookie year um and then I just got better at like watching film and uh knowing the guy the guys I was going against and then since that um it’s just been more experience you know I played more games and then I I just got used to u some of the screen that I’ve been seeing i just got better from that this is an unusually unusually good team for a young team in terms of communication on defense i wonder why you think you guys were able to skip a couple of steps there and become really good communicator um I don’t know it’s just the rel the relationship that we have as a team um how we uh communicate um we just got better at that i mean I start with the coach acceptance love and just how close we are as a team um I feel like it definitely helps do you expect Tyrese to be a little more aggressive game three after what happened in game two um maybe i mean I don’t know um my uh my approach will be the same um our approach will be the same but um I don’t know what’s what’s their plan in your in your experience why is it important to establish a physical um identity physical game to start games um it kind of sets the tone um you know we’ve been doing that all year it’s just it’s our style we play honestly we’re not I don’t think we’re doing that just to start the game it’s just how we play as a team but uh honestly that’s how we we played all year and that kind of sets the tone at some time when you guys go on a run like you did in the second quarter of game two would you rather call it a thunderstorm or a thunder latch i like both which one you like better i think thunderstorm is Yeah let’s do thunderstorm thunderstorms you uh you mentioned you learned how to you started watching how did you learn to watch um coaching staff honestly i mean I’ve been working with this uh RSC coach David Ain i mean um um you know he’s been really uh good on like the details and some of the stuff that I had to look for and then after that I mean it’s like I said experience watching film seeing some other guys do it at the same time and all that just helped me become a different there are vets who will lay on screens and never get off why do you think that wasn’t you in your career um I mean honestly my rookie year was I felt like you know played the way that I was playing defense was going to be my way on being on the court and then having to showcase my my game i was I started as a two-way player and then I feel like that was my way in and then um since that I feel like it became my identity and then I was like I’m not going away from that you guys have won road playoff games before Minnesota Denver key games you had to win what are the challenges in this in game three and five yeah uh really not get distracted by by by all that i mean you know they have a a great fan base you know that this this place is going to be rocking but you know we got to stay in in the team and then you know we got to go out there and execute our game plan tonight and not get too distracted what makes this type of pain is what make this as good as a defense keeping the ball out of the paint as it is uh yeah we got good permitted defenders um we take a lot of pride in that uh be good on our communication knowing that the screen is coming or anything and then at the same time we have good guys at the rim as someone who excels at that end what what do you appreciate most about Caruso defensively a lot honestly uh his leadership the way he communicates um his willingness at the same time the way he plays hard you know I mean he doesn’t take any possession off which is it’s crazy um especially for a guy his age but um but no it’s it’s it’s crazy how much energy he he brings out um into the game and then you know when you see that you just want to follow that too yeah draymond talks loudly about how he can blow the ass up you know blow up on the other team and how it frustrates them how what do you see when you know you’re being effective defensively against another team um I mean we play a physical style of a game so I mean it’s going to happen sometimes that they they they you know cry out about calls or anything like that but no we we trying to stay locked in and in our stuff but sometimes when it get to that point um it send some some some do you have a preference for whether you prefer crowd pops at home or crowds at home who gets uh I mean it’s always nice to play in front of our fans um but uh at the end of the day we we have to be on the court and and play so they don’t they don’t really regular season foreign [Music] so thanks guy [Music] [Music] [Music] all right you guys were able to be more dominant in game two in the paint and also in the rebounding uh why do you think that is were there any adjustments made or was it more like physicality um again I think even in game one I think we were still um we control of the game um I think we did a better job last game of just finishing the game um I mean it could also be um I mean me and Chad were back on the court a little bit more so um yeah all back we have more more rebounding kind of from that aspect but um I think the main thing we ended the game a lot better i think both games were pretty similar in the fact that we were um in control of the game most of the game until the end but I think we had a big emphasis of making sure we uh controlled it and making sure that we ended the right way is that comparing yourself uh from last year coming from New York and now here in Oklahoma you guys go directly to the NBA finals take us through the process and how did you impact this team on both ends on the floor and try to get doubles for this team yeah um I mean just bringing something different I think um again I think with my straining physicality the IQ my passing just helping guys get easier looks i think that’s That’s always been a good uh trait of mine i think I’ve had the luxury of playing with a lot of top guys so I know how to adjust to each player and again I think just bringing that IQ bringing that physicality i think that that’s been the main key obviously 20 30 years from now when you’re looking back at this what are some of the basic things you want to do now just make the most Uh staying present i think that’s the biggest thing try not to look too far in the 30 to 20 years from now uh I think the biggest thing stay present you can control what you can control um you prepare the most you can and then you just let everything happen from there i think just try to come in be confident know there’s going to be ups and downs um and then just try and control your emotions through that yeah i say there were a lot of minutes in game two with the double break lineup like you mentioned before and one of them led to that really cool alley how much do you think that how lethal do you think the team is when both of you are on the court at the same time when you have such a good passing ability for a I mean it’s it’s been a good lineup all year again um I think what makes our team special though that we can go to different lineups i think we can Mark is such a good coach that he knows when to adjust how to adjust so we have the luxury we can go big go small we go one big on the court um so I think that just makes us lethal i mean I know me and CH one on the court where we’ve always played good together and yeah we’re just trusting Mark and just going from there we know he’ll always make the right decisions you guys have won pressure road games before in the playoffs can you guys kind of lean on that at all in these next two games yeah I mean again it’s a new new experience i think um what a lot of people have to know is that you can’t take too much from the past you can learn from it but again it’s a whole new experience it’s a whole new um thing you kind of have to go through and so we’re just going to come in try to bring more intensity um just kind of build off what we’ve done the last two games and go from there you spoke intensity i’m sure Indiana’s going to come out with the same thing are you guys expecting that how do you kind of combat that plus the crowd as well um I think the main thing is you know they’re going to come in they’re their pace is going to be a lot you’re going to try to play with a lot of pace in the crowd you just kind of I think we’ve gotten to a point where you just I don’t know if it’s just me but like when you start playing you kind like don’t even recognize it no more so um I mean I know they’ve had a great crowd so far but I think just from us um you just kind of have to blend that out and just um focus on the present moment and go from there postame coverage screen [Music] nba screen looks shade down so Alex all wise on you after the last game what do you guys need to do to repeat those same performance um yeah just just kind of focus on the details of what got us to those those moments of you know the victory just being present in the game obviously it’s going to be a different challenge coming on the road you know this place will be it’ll be rowdy they’ll be excited to to cheer on their team but you know for us I think just sticking with the details of the stuff that we’ve talked about as a team that are important to to winning it um you know one it’s not easy you know like everything you know it’s the finals it’s not going to be easy you’re going to have to earn everything um and then two you know to just be confident in what you do you know we’ve been a great team all year because we’ve been confident we’ve played aggressive um so just backing my guys and telling them that you know don’t don’t second guess yourself go out there and play the game a lot of the guys are credited with your leadership um in these situations how did you develop that on this stage with this young of a team your leadership how do you build that up yeah I mean leadership is whether you’re in the NBA finals or you’re in game 15 of the season like you’re always trying to build towards the same thing you’re trying to build towards winning games and being um you know a championship caliber team uh and that’s just something that I’ve kind of always had the mindset of so whether I’ve been you know the 15th guy on the roster or seventh guy on the roster or I’m closing games in the finals um that’s just always my mindset so it kind of just comes naturally to just you know flow into that in uh in in any scenario in any circumstance what What did you learn playing alongside LeBron James that you implement every day that you don’t remember don’t don’t forget yeah I mean just the just the ability to be a pro you know like to work to go get your treatment to eat right to sleep get in your recovery tights um you know the competitive greatness that that he has that I’ve picked up from him and other guys is um has been a good a good addition to my mentality but but really just being a pro you know being a pros pro like you don’t get here you know I think we played over 100 games as a team now this year um not including practices not including you know travel days like all that stuff adds up so just being a pro and and making sure that I’m taking care of my body and taking care of my mind and bringing others with me seen a lot of the seat match up the first couple of games what challenges does he pose you know one-on-one when you’re either down low or facing yeah I mean just his um the diversity that he brings offensively you know he’s been shooting the ball extremely well in the playoffs um catch and shoot from three off the dribble in mid-range and then obviously he’s you know 68 69 rangey um so if he gets close to the rim he’s got great touch uh and he’s a physical player so you know he draws a lot of fouls just the diversity of attack that he has you know um and then he he does a great job he’s he’s one of the few guys on their teams that like really looks for isolation to score um a lot of the other guys it’s kind of through the flow of their offense and the pace but he’s a guy that you know they run sets for to get isos and so um the minutes that I have just kind of match up with him so just trying to make it tough on him obviously he’s he’s a good player you know he’s allar caliber player won a championship before um he’s not new to this so just trying to make it difficult for him quite a lot in the first two games what do you expect them to do differently yeah I mean the game three lesson for us this postseason has just been like that they’re going to come with their best punch tomorrow and their best punch usually looks like high pressure on defense um crashing really hard and then running you know getting out in transition cuz that’s usually where they do a lot of their damage and and you know if they get ahead of you in that aspect then you’re playing from behind and that’s usually where they get into the paint so um just being ready for the pace that that they’re going to play with and and the flow that they’re going to have tomorrow are your point of emphasis different because you’re playing uh here and you know that the crowd is going to try to get into it so you want to make sure that you start the game the right way yeah no the point of emphasis will will be the same for us um that won’t change too much depending on where we’re playing but you know it is something to just be cognizant of you know as there’s times in the game where um you know maybe a quick transition shot for you you know a twoon two or a threeon three isn’t the play and you need to bring it back out and make sure you get a good shot and there’s other times where you need to be aggressive to almost match their pace and you know kind of punch back with with the stuff that they throw in transition um regardless of how the crowd’s going or what the game feels like you mentioned like the energy they’ll get from the crowd you obviously gave yourself some but you guys are also pros who played in all these venues and all the spots how much does being at home and having that home court really matter in this series yeah I mean it definitely is an advantage i don’t know if it’s you know it’s not the thing that’s going to swing the pendulum one way or another obviously we’ve seen you know them go on the road and and win games in hostile environments all playoffs um as well as us you know to be able to go into Memphis down a lot at halftime game three win that game win a game down in the fourth and game four in uh in Denver and then come back and win game four in Minnesota like they’ve had multiple games too like I don’t think either one of these teams um you know deres their energy and their competitiveness from from playing at home but it is nice to have that comfortability of playing in front of your fans um and then vice versa you know us having to have the right mindset going in understanding it’s going to be difficult it’s going to be a challenge and there’s going to be points in the game where things don’t go our way and we’re going to have to be ready to respond and kind of pull together as a team alex you guys had a record 29 and one against the Eastern Conference teams this year so how difficult is going to be for you guys being here for the second time i think so uh this year in Indiana for this game three uh on tomorrow yeah well 30 and two now after the first three games um yeah it’s going to be difficult i mean it’s never easy to play here i played here you know two times a year for the last three years when I played in Chicago and I I know how they play um I know how they come out at home i know the pace they like to play with the balance the energy um really that’s our our focus just has to be like we have to prepare for their best you know that’s that’s what I’m expecting that’s what I think everyone on our team is expecting um and we know what that looks like but going out there and doing it and taking care of it is is a is a big challenge which one which one are going to be the Kobes for tomorrow probably these i’ll probably go with the draft day for us okay thank you so much what’s something you learned about Shay um having spent time with him that maybe wouldn’t have known before yeah i think one of the things that’s been unique to find out about Shay is like he just has like an unlimited amount of energy like his you know to y’all he seems quiet he seems reserved and you see this you know kind of stoic look for him on the court but you know on the bus on the plane in the locker room you know he’s he’s one that like when guys are coming in and they’ve played five games in seven days during the regular season somehow he comes in and has balance and has energy and he’s chatting everybody up um which is probably why he’s you know the player that he is and the consistency that he’s brought this year and he won the MVPs just because he finds a way to get it done every day have you seen that maybe uplift guys keep things lighter in you know in the five and seven or in a playoff atmosphere where maybe you lose a game yeah I mean that’s that’s our whole team though that’s that’s the characters we have on the team i don’t think you know even even in like our worst days this year like the 40point loss to Minnesota after game three we had a team dinner afterwards and it was like we weren’t laughing and joking around but we’re like you know we kept it light next day we got our work in but then off the court the day the time in between it’s still like camaraderie it’s still like joking it’s still uh it’s still lighthearted because that’s just you know the personality of a team and I think a lot of that is derived from him what’s made this team as good as it is defending obviously you guys kept zero in the first quarter what do you feel like you guys have done well in this series all year yeah I mean it starts with an understanding of how we want to play uh you know understanding what we’re willing to not give up but what we’re willing to funnel teams towards um and then you mix that in with you know just elite on ball perimeter defending um with interior defense that’s also elite and outstanding um it just becomes very hard you know like if you get through the gauntlet of Lou Kase me Shay Dub um you have Hart and Chet at the rim like you know either one of them would be a fantastic interior presence on on their team alone but then you have both mix of you know a group of four five six outside perimeter guys that that don’t lose a lot battles it’s just hard you know and and I think that’s just it’s a credit to how the team was put together it’s a credit to the work that the individuals put in on a nightly basis to really compete and and not allow you know themselves to get beaten last question you are known as a defensive player you scored 20 in the last game how easy do you change the shape from defensive to offensive yeah I mean I think coming into the league that was my reputation was just as a defender and because you know I didn’t I was limited offensively with just understanding how I could impact a game and I think as I’ve gotten older and then obviously you know the the work ethic I have and the time I’ve put in the gym over the summers the last couple summers just preparing knowing I was going to be back you know and this stage at some point in my career um and being prepared for that uh it’s just been you know kind of the perfect storm of it and you know I think I do a lot of things in the game that affect winning and and you know on nights where the ball finds me on offense and I get to make shots um you know there’s a little bit a little bit more of a of of an ego boost for me just because you know I don’t always get that opportunity i’m I’m a very opportunistic offensive player um depending on which game it is and who’s how the teams are covering me like you know Denver and Memphis they just gave me open shots um so I was ready for it and I had pretty good numbers in that offensively um it’s kind of happened the other night too where the ball just found me on a lot of swings and a lot of uh a lot of empty outs and stuff like that and I was just ready and prepared to shoot the ball but it’s just a lot of work that’s gone into it and uh you know just not limiting myself and my mind to doing my thing um no what would you say maybe was the biggest takeaway from from game two that you guys you hold on to and try to keep doing that moving forward um finishing the game uh we started off strong um got a little lead and you know we didn’t we didn’t get complacent or stop stop trying to uh increase the lead on your express any interest to me did they did they ass did they have you in prior to just injury i was there to kind of pick and I I was wondering if you ever like practiced or focused on being able to guard all different positions because I’ve noticed you you can stop anyone is that something you like was it focused on on your game like coming into the NBA or kind of just just happened and you now you’re able to guard different positions uh definitely wanted to come in and guard the best players in the league um did I know that I’ll be guarding bigger players on the other team yeah i mean that’s part of basketball switcher and you know that’s just a challenge that I like to like to take no big Mark says you guys have grown a lot over the course evolved a lot over the course of this postseason when you look back at you know the start you know going up against the Grizzlies and where you guys are now how much do you feel like you guys have grown as a team overall uh we’ve grown a tremendous amount i feel like just being able to start and start a series and not have it go the way that we wanted to and still be able to bounce back and you know overcome the other challenges that we face along the way um I don’t think we would have done that as as well as we have i mean for such a young group what’s it like going through that mentally and being able to you know go through something when it’s not going your way at the start of a series on this sort of stage and then bounce back like you got guys has uh builds our confidence i mean you know going through it and succeeding definitely builds confidence uh down is it your preference to start or really at this point see you going to end right now uh it doesn’t matter i mean it’s what’s best to win the game you know if you know whatever coach you sit that’s Do you find it easier though if you’re starting to get into the rhythm of the game or more of a challenge for that event uh I’m going to be ready whether I’m starting or not you know whenever I’m on the court uh it’s my job to be ready and play as hard as I can you guys have been one of the best road teams all season long just what goes into making sure that you’re coming out here playing with your identity regardless of the noise of the stage that you guys are on uh knowing that you know we’re on the road so they’re going to be loud for them and you know six points going to feel like more than six points so just just knowing the nature of that and and being able to stay focused what do you feel like you guys did well defensively in game two they only shot 35% from three compared to I think Garuff game more um I’d say our our coverages were better you know we executed our defensive coverages um better than we did the first game we had more intensity throughout the whole 48 minutes than we did the first game sure jason what do you just think of the multi-day breaks between these games considering the last two rounds were basically every every other day uh it’s great you know we get to get off our feet and you know learn more about the last game you know take in the recovery that we need fuel um yeah we get we get to be better prepared qu when you go on a run like you guys did in game two the second quarter of game two would you rather call it a thunderstorm or a thunder latch sorry like when you guys go on a run like the way you did in game two the second quarter of game two would you rather call it a thunderstorm or a thunder lanch um you got to keep pushing and extend you got a brother right yeah Katon’s your brother i don’t think people know about like your relationship that much what What was it like growing up with him and what did it do for your game and just like what’s it like to have a brother in the NBA and see him get some shine this year earlier in Atlanta and playing talk about that yeah so starting I actually started playing basketball my first time ever with him i was on his team and you know that moment him and his teammates embraced me on the court and I was I was one of them and ever since then like I’ve always followed him around like yeah it was like whenever he went to the gym I was there and to see us both playing on the same level against each other and being able to guard each other score on each other like is really it’s really a blessing and you know I’m I’m thankful to uh have a brother that’s at this level and playing har after playing you know nine minutes in in game one and then over 20 in game two is it I imagine there wasn’t much conversation ahead of time that you knew that your role was going to be different in game two just what’s that what’s that lesson for you uh yeah um just staying ready is always my mindset so um game one nine minutes thought I had a good nine minutes um game two the first nine minutes felt good um so getting an additional nine on top of that was you know just helping the team felt good was in a rhythm so um felt good that professionalism and that readiness is that something that you came into the league with or is that something that you had to learn just through your experience and yeah I think it’s something that kind of developed um as I got into the league um I had probably never really seen like you know the unpredictable minutes or like you know the role that you know I’d be asked to have um but as I started to see and experience more of the NBA it became something that I you know just kind of grew with and adapted to um and it’s not always the best thing in the world but like you know understanding and being with the team like this um makes it all worth it so speaking of the we heard Jab Shay Chad like all those guys singing your praises talking about how much they respect what you do and the role that you’re in and recognizing how difficult it might be what’s it like knowing you have their confidence their trust and their support yeah I mean that’s huge that’s huge um like I said being with this group makes you know whatever job is actually um easier so um I mean those guys obviously go out there and do you know the job they do every night and um I just want to be able to contribute and and help the team here in traditionally in the playoffs teams don’t turn to their bench as much as these two teams do how much more important do you feel like that makes the second unit battles and why do you feel like you guys have been successful in those minutes yeah I mean it’s it’s obviously very important um I mean your bench unit can be you know crucial um in games um and our bench has been great all season um I think we have one of the deepest benches in the NBA um and you know all of our guys are ready at any point in time so it could be anybody’s night off the bench and obviously our starters we know what those guys look like night in and night out so um you know it’s it’s obviously important and you know your bench pieces can change a game so um can’t go over i asked Alex played with said that he has so much energy what is he like off the court yeah I mean energetic is a word to kind of explain him um I think you know he’s obviously a pros pro when it comes to the game of basketball um I mean but off the court he’s uh obviously a family guy and um you know some someone who just you know buys into uh you know being able to tap out of you know that basketball world and uh whether that’s spend time with his family enjoy the moment with his teammates um go out to dinner go shopping whatever that is um you know he has he has a lot of energy when it comes to those things yeah I mean he’s been huge um you know his his kind of feel and knowledge of the game um his experience you know having been at this stage before um and playing in the NBA as long as he has um you know he’s able to just kind of you know be a vocal leader for us um in times where um you know we’re on the roll and in times where we may need you know some leadership um in certain aspects that we don’t even see so um he’s been huge for us and he continues to kind of be that vocal leader for us offensively what type of the the crowd what do you think is going to happen tomorrow um I mean having seen this crowd on TV the whole playoffs I know they’re going to show up and they’re going to you know be huge um for the Pacers so um I mean we’ve got to be locked in and can’t let the crowd um you know affect the way that we want to approach the game um but I’m sure they’ll show up and and they’ll be on uh on a high high feeling when we come in here struggled communicating intensively and you guys haven’t i just wondered why you think you’ll be able to unlock that a lot faster um I think the personnel that we have kind of makes that end of the of the court uh having to play defense um just a little bit more fun for us um and because of that there’s a mental just buyin that everybody has um to communicate to be in the right spots to try to make you know certain plays on the defensive end and that um that gets us going it gets us going offensively gets us going in transition um and it’s also a prideful thing guys take pride in it and that’s what just kind of drives to um you know our ability to be you know as good of a decent defensive team as we’ve been all season the room involved being so disruptive screens the opposition really blows things out yeah um like I said that’s personnel man we we have some of the best perimeter defenders um in the NBA and some of the best rim protectors in the NBA and those guys um they just do they just do a hell of a job just kind of making making things hard on you know the offenses that we face um and that’s just who they’ve been I think since I’ve come into the NBA um that’s that’s the way that they play and um you know their their aggressiveness and tenacity drives the rest of our team to to be able to just match the energy on the defensive end those two games had ended differently the first one was dramatic one the second one was like a regular game for you and what have you learned of those two type of games um I mean you just kind of learn that you know every game can go any way um but the full 48 minutes matter um you got to be able to you know get off to a good start and you got to be able to close um each quarter and the game obviously um to win a game it’s it’s not easy to win a game um and no game’s over until that buzzer sounds so you got to be able to close out games and play the full 48 minutes when you got the second game did your family ask you about the results uh everybody did yeah my family my uh my friends my phone was blowing up um got a lot of love people typically think about the playoffs they don’t think about benches being important but both you guys and the Pacers really do do you feel like that makes your second unit performance is more important oh yeah for sure um I think first and foremost both both teams do a really good job of understanding that it takes multiple guys to you know have a great season especially in today’s game is kind of changing and so anybody can be impactful at any moment when they’re put in the game and both sides do a really good job of having your guys just be ready at all times when when did you kind of get the sense when you got to OKC that Mark Sting was taking away the paint on the defensive end uh from day one i mean obviously you go through like training camp and things like that and you get to pick up on what like the biggest focuses are you know going into the season um we’ve always been a guard with all five built from the inside out um type of type of defense what do you think makes you guys so good at it i think two of the Pacers the worst three points in the paint games this postseason have been these first two games uh the mentality that um each and every guy plays with we understand what they want so going out there and executing it it it’s easy when you have guys that are committed to doing that um to playing the right way and doing it from the inside out you know having each other’s back being in all the right positions dr how you doing how are you doing i’m doing good take your time take your time i want to ask you about uh your role with this team coming from the bench uh a huge performance for you uh in the first two games playing as home but how tough you guys are going to be uh been productive for your team and how tight here in Indiana i think we’re just going to play the same brand of basketball we’ve always played i don’t think it’s going to be you know any tougher when we have the the guys and the system that we play in um we’ve been doing it all season and hoping to keep it up uh keep it rolling right now ready for your summer tomorrow oh yeah always always thank you yes sir isa yes sir what do you just think of um what the double big lineup guys use more often in game two how would you just evaluate how uh you know Chad Hornstein look against Indiana i mean they’ve been doing good i mean and they they get better and better at each and every game each and every time they’re out there um it just kind of I think it kind of throws the opponent off a little bit when we can have a lineup so you know versatile um should a lot of paint protection um it brings new new looks on the offensive end um a lot a lot better rebounding um I think with the way that we play just being able to have lineups that can you know be interchangeable um it helps us a lot i know you guys are in the middle of the finals but have you and Jable had a chance to kind of I guess reflect on the fact that you guys are in the finals considering you guys high school teammates i mean we talk about it here and there but I think it’s um I think it’s going to be something for me personally that’s going to hit you know a little bit later cuz like we’re here and we’re in it in the mix right now and we honestly know that like the rarity of it but we feel like we deserve you know to be here but it’s just the fact that stuff like this doesn’t happen playing on the same team you know as one of your high school teammates let alone being in the finals having a chance to compete for a championship um it it’s different it’s different but I think for me it’s going to hit a little later in life yeah is the pitchers have been talking about the last couple days not being able to get into the paint what have you like from your defense of allowing them to not get into that paint i mean we just been been doing a good job of executing our game plan um we’re a build from the inside out type of team and everybody that’s out there on the floor understands that and is willing to do whatever it takes to just be impactful and whatever that looks like for each and every guy they go out there and you know just lay it out on the mind and play with the right mindset what does that look like for Kener Williams specifically a guy that didn’t score in game two but kept the scoreboard moving in the right direction as a plus 15 guy like I said just win at all costs he has that type of mentality no matter what what that means uh offensively defensively be scrappy be hard nose be a more aggressive person um I think when you go out there with the the mindset just to be a winner that just means doing whatever it takes and he has that what’s the most vet thing that Alexo does or has done the most vet thing I think just constantly keeping everybody aware like what’s at stake and what we can achieve um with the group of guys that we have being somebody that’s been in this position before um he let he makes you known that like we’re a team that’s capable and this started like his first day here like we have a we have a shot and this is what it takes to you know to get to that and so that’s something that’s really been helpful for us what was it like when you brought the brought the championship ring into the locker room yeah it was cool it was cool i mean just to see the details and um how it is i mean it kind of just gives you motivation you know cuz I want one for myself and I’m pretty sure everybody else on our team feels the same way and so just having that moment with him was a pretty dope experience how you doing boss how you been i’m good how you doing great you think you’re good i’m going straight

Hear from Chet Holmgren, Lu Dort, Isaiah Hartenstein, Alex Caruso, Cason Wallace, Aaron Wiggins and Isaiah Joe as they speak with the media in Indianapolis at 2025 NBA Finals Media Day on the podiums.

0:00 Chet Holmgren
6:36 Lu Dort
13:27 Isaiah Hartenstein
19:57 Alex Caruso
30:43 Cason Wallace
35:44 Aaron Wiggins
42:19 Isaiah Joe

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