awfulannouncing
Oklahoma City Thunder All-Star guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the reigning back-to-back NBA MVP, added another title to his résumé on Friday: the NBA's preeminent Anti-AI King.
The Thunder suffered a narrow 113-112 defeat to the Los Angeles Clippers despite a 40-point outburst from Gilgeous-Alexander. It was a forgettable night for Oklahoma City until the final question of Gilgeous-Alexander's postgame press conference produced a moment that will be remembered for a long time.
An off-camera reporter asked, "Shai, during the first half, it was the first time in your NBA career that you didn't record a single assist." The question continued with a follow-up about whether he felt he needed to take over offensively. Gilgeous-Alexander peered over his glasses and responded, "Wait, one more time? It was wait, what?"
The reporter repeated the claim that Gilgeous-Alexander's first-half assist drought against the Clippers was the first such instance of his career. Gilgeous-Alexander replied, "That's a false stat, by the way. In Game 4 against Indiana, I didn't have an assist the whole game. But sorry. Go ahead."
Indeed, in Game 4 of the 2025 NBA Finals against the Indiana Pacers, Gilgeous-Alexander recorded 35 points, three rebounds, three steals, and one block—but zero assists.
The reporter then restated his actual question, which Gilgeous-Alexander answered. Afterward, the reporter said, "Gotcha," to which Gilgeous-Alexander responded, "Don't trust AI." He smiled and laughed, adding, "Yeah, don't do it."
Clemente Almanza, lead writer for OKC Thunder Wire, was present at the press conference and described the reporter only as an LA reporter. As of this writing, the reporter has not been identified beyond that, which is probably for the best.
Key Analysis
The predominant lesson from this exchange is to never rely on AI for research—or any journalistic function. It also echoes evergreen advice from Kevin Van Valkenburg, formerly of ESPN and now at Fried Egg Golf. In May, Van Valkenburg wrote, "A great journalism lesson: If you are trying to get good answers from someone in an interview, one of the worst ways to do it is long-ass questions designed to make you (the interviewer) feel or look smart."
Originally reported by awfulannouncing.