Jalen Williams Explains Origin of OKC Thunder’s Postgame Interviews

Oklahoma City has started to generate headlines because of the postgame interviews.

May 7, 2024; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) and members of the team participate in an interview after their win over the Dallas Mavericks in game one of the second round for the 2024 NBA playoffs at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images / Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

As Oklahoma City has risen through the ranks of NBA teams, the team’s fun personalities have started to come out. It’s not a surprise, as the Thunder are one of the league’s youngest teams. Obviously it’s all business when it comes to winning, but these guys are having fun too.

One way that Oklahoma City has expressed itself as a team has been through postgame interviews. It started as a nonchalant thing, but now it has really caught on. The entire team will hop in the postgame interview — nobody interviews alone — and occasionally, at the end, someone will bark. Oftentimes, it’s the veterans on the team forcing a teammate to bark.

When Chet Holmgren debuted for the Thunder in Summer League, he refused to take a postgame interview by himself. He mentioned his stats were always because of a full team effort, and that mentality has trickled down to the rest of the team.

“I think it was my sophomore year with like Summer League in Utah, Chet barked, and it kind of was like random, like it wasn't on purpose,” Jalen Williams, who has been one of the postgame ringleaders said. “I think Twitter kind of got a hold of it and then — our team's so weird, I don't even remember what happened after that. We started barking after.

“Chet kind of started it by accident. I think maybe one of the interviewers talking about having a dog mentality or something, and he barked. It kind of just took off from there. I think me and J-Will started doing it, mocking him, and once Oklahoma gets wind of something like that, they usually stick with it.”

It might not be something that lasts forever, but it helps make this young team unique. It allows them to freely be themselves. While some people might not like it — Draymond Green — it’s just another aspect of the Thunder’s tight bond and chemistry. And that’s part of what makes them great.

“I don't know, I enjoy it,” he said on how long the postgame shenanigans will last. “I think everybody else does. We don't do it every time now, but it's kind of like our identity.”

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