No one would have expected Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder to be great this season. And if Kendrick Perkins had his way, the young All-Star guard would win MVP after helping the team become a contender.
Gilgeous-Alexander first entered the league as the Los Angeles Clippers’ 11th pick in the 2018 Draft , the same one that saw Luka Doncic join the Dallas Mavericks via a trade with the Atlanta Hawks for Trae Young. During his rookie season being coached by Doc Rivers, SGA posted measly numbers of 10.8 points on 47 percent shooting from the field, 2.8 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 1.2 steals per game.
Fast forward to his sixth year in the NBA, Gilgeous-Alexander has risen from a guard with untapped potential to one of the best players this season. Over the course of 75 games, the Thunder All-Star averaged 30.1 points on 53 percent shooting from the field, 5.5 rebounds, 6.2 assists, and 2.0 steals per game.
As a result of the insane leap Gilgeous-Alexander has taken this year, Oklahoma City got to claim the Western Conference’s top seed over Nikola Jokic’s Denver Nuggets and a Minnesota Timberwolves team led by All-Star guard Anthony Edwards. This occurred as SGA led the league’s second-youngest roster towards contention, surprising everybody in the process.
Kendrick Perkins Believes Oklahoma City Thunder Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is This Season’s MVP
While some personalities are supporting Doncic’s MVP claim or that of Jokic, Kendrick Perkins believed that SGA is the most deserving player to win MVP this year. In a tweet posted by the former NBA star on his official X account:
Jokic, Luka and Brunson are all deserving of the MVP… but Shai leading the second youngest team to the best record in an absolutely STACKED Western Conference while putting up numbers like MJ and Steph did during their MVP seasons is the reason HE is the MVP of the league!!! It’s also the reasons why @shaiglalex got my vote for MVP!!! Carry the hell on…” Perkins tweeted.
Although the players mentioned by Perkins have a good case to win MVP, there’s no getting around how Gilgeous-Alexander has transformed a young Thunder team into a contender and the number one squad in the West right now. Add his Michael Jordan and Stephen Curry-like numbers to the mix and it gets harder to even consider other guys in the race.
With the regular season now done, everyone’s focus will be on the playoffs and who’s going to win MVP. Hopefully, SGA and the Thunder can do both and dominate like they have all year long.
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