After the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the San Antonio Spurs 122-113 in Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander addressed his remarks regarding Isaiah Hartenstein’s defense of Victor Wembanyama.
When NBC’s Zora Stephenson questioned Gilgeous-Alexander about Hartenstein’s defensive impact on Wembanyama during his post-game on-court interview, he first said he was “not sure if it was good” (beginning at the 48-second mark).
Gilgeous-Alexander told reporters during his post-game news conference (which begins at 8:15) that although he “didn’t really hear” Stephenson’s initial inquiry, he did provide her with “the right answer” once he pieced it together.
Gilgeous-Alexander did ask Stephenson to repeat a question when she asked a follow-up to suggest he wasn’t entirely capable of hearing at the time, though there are situations in which it could be a poor excuse.
Gilgeous-Alexander’s attempt to prevent Wembanyama from receiving any potential bulletin-board material that he might utilize in the future could be another explanation.
