LOS ANGELES — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander expects trash-talking (“I won’t take it to heart, promise you that”) and hopes there won’t be boos (“I didn’t do nothing crazy while I was here”) when he takes the floor Monday as a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder.

He said he’ll want to win “1,000 percent” — same as every game he plays. It’s just that this one is his first against the Clippers, who traded for him on NBA Draft Night in 2018, made him a rookie starter on a playoff-bound team and then included him in a blockbuster trade for Paul George this offseason.

As exhilarating as George’s 70 points in his first 44 minutes as an active Clipper have been, and as impressive as his fellow newcomer Kawhi Leonard has been in fourth quarters he’s played, L.A.’s fans continue to feel a pang of regret about the team having relinquished the promising point guard to bring aboard the two superstars.

Gilgeous-Alexander won over the fanbase with his smooth, savvy play, his composure and sky-high potential that promised to blossom in L.A. for seasons to come.

But then the Clippers shook the NBA with the move that, yes, also floored Gilgeous-Alexander.

“It was a whirlwind,” he said after practice Sunday at UCLA, where the Thunder were preparing for back-to-back games against the Clippers and Lakers. “Obviously not expecting it, then once I talked to the organization, head office, and all that stuff like that, I felt really comfortable and ready for a new opportunity.

“I didn’t get much explanation. It was just, ‘It happened, sorry to let you go, but you gotta go,’” he added with a chuckle. “’All right, thank you.’”

Now, following that deal that also sent Danilo Gallinari (19 points per game) and a record haul of draft picks to the Thunder, Gilgeous-Alexander finds himself playing alongside Chris Paul, another former Clipper point guard.

And Gilgeous-Alexander, 21, has immediately begun living up to the lofty prospects ascribed to him, embracing a heightened level of responsibility in just his second NBA season.

“He’s got a huge ceiling to continue to get better,” Thunder coach Billy Donovan said. “He’s gonna have a lot of control of that because of, No. 1, how talented is and how good of a guy he is, but I think as he steps into this new situation, there’s a lot more responsibility.

“As much as he probably worried last year being a rookie, ‘I’ve got to get myself ready to play,’ (now) he’s got to impact the group, he’s going to impact a group on offense, he’s got to impact the group on defense, he’s got to make people better … He’s went from a guy that probably was fifth or sixth or seven on the scouting report for the Clippers last year to a guy that’s probably one or two on a scouting report now, so he’s seeing defenses guard him a little bit differently in the past.

“These are all learning opportunities for him to get better to continually grow and become the player he’s capable of.”

And the fashion-conscious Gilgeous Alexander has looked good toting the extra burden: His 20.4 points per game are double what he was scoring last season and currently rank third among second-year players, behind only last season’s top two Rookie of the Year finishers, Luka Doncic (28.5) and Trae Young (26.6).

“He’s been ballin’,” said Jerome Robinson, who the Clippers drafted 13th, two spots behind Gilgeous-Alexander, and who’s remained in regular contact with him, as have Patrick Beverley and Lou Williams.

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Donovan attributed much of Gilgeous-Alexander’s early success with OKC to the opportunities he had last season, when he started 73 of 82 regular-season games, averaged 10.8 points, 3.3 assists and 1.2 steals and was named to the All-Rookie Second Team.

“Guys like him who get significant playing time as a rookie generally make a pretty good jump from their rookie year to their second year,” Donovan said. “They’ve got a body of work and experiences that they can reflect back upon to prepare themselves for the following year. They’ve kind of seen everything, they’ve traveled to every city, they know it back-to-backs are like, they know training camp, they have a better feel for it.

“He obviously played really, really well last year and got really good, quality significant minutes for them, so I think he’s only gonna get better.”

Gilgeous-Alexander concurred: “I apply something from last year every day.”

Thank goodness PG scored 70pts in his first 2 games with LAC or the tears would never stop 😭 https://t.co/TCV8OxPBrf — Juice Supreme (@someLAshxt) November 17, 2019