OKC Thunder Clearly Remember Houston Rockets Slight

The Houston Rockets fell to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday in the NBA Cup semi-final. The day after, the Thunder players took to social media to prove the team has not forgotten about the slight the Rockets issued just five games ago.

Dec 14, 2024; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) reacts during the fourth quarter against the Houston Rockets in a semifinal of the 2024 Emirates NBA Cup at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images / Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

The Oklahoma City Thunder are the no. 1 seed in the Western Conference for the second straight year. After splashy offseason moves and being viewed as the top contender out West, it is no surprise that rivalries are starting to grow.

As Oklahoma City begins to become the hunted, instead of just a spunky start up feel-good-story, it is only natural for the on the court temperment to flare as well. Case and point, Cason Wallace's dust up with Alprene Sengun at the end of Saturday's NBA Cup semi-final win over the Rockets.

This is not the first time the Thunder and Rockets game ended with a dust up, as Dillon Brooks was in the center of one with superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander during the Thunder's Dec. 1 loss in Houston. Much like the bitterness between the Dallas Mavericks and Oklahoma City Thunder, a rivalry a brewing with the Rockets in the same fashion.

Following that Dec. 1, a trio of Rockets immediately rushed to the locker room, hopping on Instagram live to prance around to "Not like us," by Kendrick Lamar. This was a bold strategy for a team that has not made the postseason since the 2020 NBA Bubble.

The Oklahoma City Thunder clearly saw the antics and kept it back of mind after their minds. Following Saturday's win over the Rockets, which punched its ticket to the NBA Cup Championship to face the Bucks on Tuesday.

Superstar Gilgeous-Alexander took to instagram to post his post-win caption. It read “I don’t do the IG lives, I’m just really live in real life.”

His Thunder teammates chimed in. Jalen Williams felt his traditional translation wasn't need saying "Self explanatory," Jaylin Williams simply posted a tea cup underneath with Isaiah Hartenstein posting a lock emoji.

It is clear the Thunder remembered this slight and responded accordingly via Instagram following the win, which gives Oklahoma City a 2-1 advantage in the season series over Houston.

Shai on IG: “I don’t do the IG lives, I’m just really live in real life.” pic.twitter.com/M3xaDUM2lj

— Joel Lorenzi (@jxlorenzi) December 15, 2024

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