Shai Gilgeous-Alexander can make history with NBA Championship win

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder are two wins away from making the NBA Finals for the first time since 2012. The Thunder took Game 2 against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday night to take a 2-0 lead. Furthermore, Gilgeous-Alexander can potentially join an exclusive club if he can lead the Thunder to their first NBA title this season.

The star Thunder guard was announced as the league MVP this week and officially joined Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook as the only players in franchise history to win the award. Alexander led the association in scoring (32.7 ppg) and led the Thunder to a franchise best 68 wins. However, that is not the particular exclusive club that Alexander can join if he wins the Larry O' Brien Trophy in June.

If the current MVP leads the Thunder to a title this season, he will then join Michael Jordan, Shaquille O'Neal, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the only players in NBA history to win league MVP, lead the league in scoring, lead his team to the best record in the league, and win an NBA title all in the same season. 

O'Neal accomplished the feat during the 1999-00 campaign as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers. The 2000 NBA MVP averaged 29.6 points per game, led the Lakers to 67 wins, and won the NBA title over Reggie Miller and the Indiana Pacers. Jordan did the same during the 1997-98 season when he averaged 28.7 points, led the Bulls to 62 wins, and went on to win the NBA championship against the Utah Jazz. It's also worth mentioning Jordan accomplished this feat in two other seasons (1991-92, 1995-96). Lastly, Jabbar was the first player to check all those the boxes in the 1970-71 campaign as a member of the Milwaukee Bucks. Abdul-Jabbar averaged 31.6 points and led the Bucks to 66 wins and a Finals victory over the Washington Bullets. 

Regardless of what happens in the Western Conference Finals, Gilgeous-Alexander has already solidified himself as one of the league's premier players and perhaps one of basketball's greatest players ever.