As the Oklahoma City Thunder stacked up wins toward earning the first seed, a new post-win celebration was born: the infamous postgame interviews.
Following wins, Thunder players have begun barking in celebration and playfully teasing Bally Sports Oklahoma reporter Nick Gallo.
Jalen Williams has led the charge with the newfound tradition for this young squad. From leaving TNT high and dry to messing with Gallo’s Apple Watch, the 23-year-old has been the face of OKC’s post-win celebrations.
After the Thunder’s Game 4 win to complete their first-round sweep of the New Orleans Pelicans, Williams explained their admiration for the local broadcast members — who are done broadcasting games for the rest of the NBA playoffs. The remaining rounds will be shown on national television.
“Him and P-Law (Paris Lawson) be with us for the whole year,” Williams said. “Not just kind of when we have a couple of wins under our belts, so it’s always cool to be able to come over to them and kinda celebrate that with us.
“They’re in the trenches with us for 86 games so far. So it’s always good to kind of show love. We really appreciate them.”
The Thunder ditched Allie LaForce and TNT so they could do their first postgame interview with local TV after beating the Pelicans in Game 3. pic.twitter.com/cJvzQ1VTHo
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) April 28, 2024
Jalen Williams just lit up when he realized he was on his way to talk to team reporter Nick Gallo. The team just absolutely mobbed him. pic.twitter.com/4pXM5cJky0
— Joel Lorenzi (@jxlorenzi) April 30, 2024
It’s only fitting that Williams provided a wholesome answer to a wholesome tradition. The Thunder’s synergy from across the organization has been a strength of theirs for several years and this season has really shown that.
While the group interviews following playoff wins will likely continue, Thunder fans will miss the local element of it being shown on Bally Sports Oklahoma with Gallo’s and Lawson’s participation.
But, alas, it’s a worthy price to pay for an extended postseason run by the Thunder.
