Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's humility shines through as OKC star makes his feelings perfectly clear on all-time great status

The Oklahoma City Thunder have the best record in the Western Conference and the second-best record in the NBA. Mark Daigneault and Sam Presti have built a deep team. However, they will only go as far as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander can take them.

The combo guard recently became just the third Canadian player to score at least 10,000 points in the league, and he's posting Michael Jordan-like numbers on offense and defense.

Nonetheless, he knows you can't sit on the all-time greats' table unless you get the job done when it matters the most. When asked about that, he reflected on winning rings and his potential legacy:

"For me, you have to win. Until I do that, I don’t put myself in those guys’ stratosphere. I can’t, because I haven’t won on the biggest stage in the world. I just haven't done that yet, and until then, I don't think I should be in those conversations."

The Thunder entered the season as odds-on favorites to represent the West in the NBA Finals, so he might have a chance to build on that legacy as early as this season.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander reflects on tough loss to the Cavaliers

The Thunder were riding a league-best 15-game winning streak before their trip to Ohio. There, they couldn't get past the Cleveland Cavaliers, the No. 1 team in the Association.

Nonetheless, as disappointing as the loss was, Gilgeous-Alexander knows this is a marathon and not a sprint, and there's still plenty of basketball left to be played this season:

“A lot of games left. We have a chance to go on many streaks. The season didn’t end with that game. We’ve played in games where our season did end,” the Canadian said.

“So, it definitely wasn’t devastating. We definitely have a lot of basketball to get better. At the end of the night, we got better that night, and that’s the outcome for us. It’s about getting better, it’s about learning, it’s about growing from experience.”

The Thunder failed to make a statement in their biggest game of the season. Then again, Chet Holmgren and Alex Caruso will return to the lineup eventually, and they have multiple assets to potentially pull off a big trade before the deadline.

And with Gilgeous-Alexander averaging north of 31 points per game on 52% from the floor while also playing lockdown defense, they should be in a position to take down whoever comes across them.