Shai Gilgeous-Alexander says Thunder want NBA wins mark

LAS VEGAS — If a record or a trophy is within the Oklahoma City Thunder’s reach, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander wants it.

That includes a potential continuation of the NBA record of 73 wins set by the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors.

“Absolutely,” Gilgeous-Alexander said during the NBA Cup press briefing Friday when asked if the record meant anything to him and his teammates. “Winning matters. And it doesn’t matter in what form it looks like to me. So absolutely.”

The Warriors’ record has become a topic of discussion around the Thunder recently as the defending champions are off to a historic start. Oklahoma City is 24-1 heading into Saturday’s NBA Cup semifinals matchup with the San Antonio Spurs, tying Golden State’s 2015-16 team for the best record ever through 25 games.

Spurs forward Harrison Barnes, a starter for the Warriors, said the Thunder were “probably on track” to break that record. He noted, however, that chasing the previous record of 72 wins set by the Chicago Bulls in 1995-96 took its toll on the Warriors, who lost in the NBA Finals to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

“It’s tiring. It’s tiring,” Barnes told ESPN. “Obviously you deal with all types of narratives during the season and things like that. But everything is different. It was a lot.”

Gilgeous-Alexander made it clear that championships would always be his priority over chasing records. Several members of the Thunder, including Gilgeous-Alexander, stressed the importance of blocking out potential distractions such as focusing too much on future possibilities.

“We try to be a better version of ourselves every night we go out, and we like to hunt in that form,” Gilgeous-Alexander. “If we didn’t improve tonight, we wasted an opportunity. That’s kind of how we look at it.”

The Thunder won 16 straight games, putting Oklahoma City almost halfway through the Los Angeles Lakers’ 33-game winning streak in 1971-72.

Gilgeous-Alexander didn’t know it was an NBA winning streak record until he was informed about it during his media session on Friday.

“Wow, that’s a lot more games to win,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “Yes, we’re that far away. I didn’t even know that, so it didn’t even cross my mind. But I hope we get there. That’s the goal.”

The NBA Cup semifinals count toward regular-season standings — and winning streaks — but the championship game does not.

The Thunder lost to the Milwaukee Bucks in last year’s Cup final, the only trophy that eluded Oklahoma City last season. But the Thunder says last year’s experience in Las Vegas doesn’t provide any added incentive at the moment.

“Any time you have an opportunity to play for something and win, the goal is always to win,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “It’s always the same feeling. So it would be phenomenal to win, that’s for sure.”

Added forward Jalen Williams: “If we’re going to apply ourselves to anything, let’s do it to the best of our ability and try to win. That’s just our nature. That’s how we play basketball.”

The Thunder will have their preferred starting lineup for the first time all season in the Cup semifinals. Center Isaiah Hartenstein has been cleared to play after missing the last six games with a calf strain.