Q. Aaron was just talking about the fellowship, not just the guys converted from the standard two-way contract, but even the whole team, just the love and support that exists for seeing guys kind of make those types of strides. What did that feel like for you this year specifically of earning that once again?
LINDY WATERS III: Feels good to know that your work pays off. I think everybody has the understanding that, oh, it's not easy to be in these positions, and everybody's encouraging each other. It's a tough business to be in, but even in my position, whenever the other guys that were in my position come around, I try to encourage them just as well.
Yeah, the camaraderie we have, I think that's what makes us so successful.
Q. You've talked a lot about your personal gratitude, and Mark mentioned this year, because of where the team is and guys, you're a better player, but there have been less cracks for you this year. How have you maintained your gratitude through that and stayed sort of disciplined mentally on that?
LINDY WATERS III: I was just talking about this with some of my teammates, but the days that the cameras don't see, the high-intensity days, the days on the bus, the plane, we can't take those for granted because you don't always have those.
Yeah, just staying grateful for every opportunity knowing that it was just a few years ago that I wasn't in this position and I was fighting for something. That keeps me humble.
Q. Lindy, what was this year like for you just overall, part of a G-League championship, part of a group going to the playoffs, and being a finalist for a social justice award? What did this season as a whole mean to you?
LINDY WATERS III: It was great to me, start to finish. I thought being in my role, getting an opportunity in the G-League to continue to develop as a player and a person and then finishing that off with a championship, getting to celebrate with those guys, there's no better feeling than finishing your last game on a win.
Yeah, I thought with the nomination of the award, a little bit of recognition, I thought it was a great year.
Q. What was it like being nominated for that award? What's that mean to be recognized, and how important it is for you to be in that position to be recognized?
LINDY WATERS III: It's a huge honor for me because I've always wanted to give back to my community, and I've been doing it for years. I'm going to continue to keep doing it.
For that specific award, it was a huge honor for me and my family.
Q. Lindy, I know that ending wasn't what you had hoped for, but what about the playoffs left you encouraged?
LINDY WATERS III: The most encouraging thing about that was the way we all stuck together and knowing that we were just one play away from getting to a Game 7, and just being here for the past three years seeing the improvement amongst all the players and the coaching staff and the commitment that we've made in the locker room and on the court.
Just even sitting in the locker room reflecting on those moments of the good days and the bad days, I think that's what really encourages us to keep pushing forward.
Q. You mentioned being one play away. I just want to get your point of view because obviously the foul changed the game, but before that, the lob felt like this surreal play, like here are these players maybe like Kobe and Shaq, just two down. What was your point of view on that play, and what did it feel like as it happened?
LINDY WATERS III: I mean, to give up a lob with 20 seconds left in an elimination game, I thought we were lucky to be in that position to get such an easy basket. But whatever I say, we came down and it was one play away, there was a lot of plays in that game that we could have controlled better.
A lot of the light gets shined onto the very last play of the game, but there's hundreds of possessions in games. All it took was one.
Q. You were talking about being here for the last three years, being here for the last 20-something years, and you saw the initial Thunder. You've seen the dark, dark days. How proud are you as a local guy to see the Thunder back where locals believe they should be? And then what was your role in kind of coaching up the players on what to expect in the playoffs?
LINDY WATERS III: Yeah, the pride of Oklahoma, it's something that we try to express to each other. We're seeing Oklahoma grow enormously over the past decade. Even whenever they came in -- I talk about this a lot, but growing up not having basketball and then all of a sudden we get an NBA team, it was amazing for me and just seeing the success.
Now being a part of this whole organization is just so professional, and we carry ourselves with class. I think that speaks to how Oklahoma is in general. So we're a very proud community, and we're going to keep encouraging each other.
Q. With that, when you were a kid seeing as a fan -- I don't know if you ever went to playoff games or anything like that. But seeing it as a fan and then experiencing it as a player, what were some culture shocks or differences that you saw or similarities that you saw?
LINDY WATERS III: It's loud. Probably the loudest in the entire league. Everybody's together. Everybody has our backs. It was like that whenever Russ was here. It's just been a great environment to play in.
Q. What are your big goals in this off-season for yourself?
LINDY WATERS III: Just continuing to improve on my health, my body, my mind, my spirit. Just continue to grow as a human being. I think that will take care of everything.
Q. You talk about the work that's done when the cameras aren't showing. Ous did a lot of that this year. What progress have you seen in him?
LINDY WATERS III: I've seen him grow a ton this year. He got an opportunity with the G-League as well. But he comes in, and he works every single day. I believe he'll be ready for his opportunity when his number is called.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports