Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Early Favorite to Win Second-Straight MVP

It’s hard to see how the last calendar year could’ve gone better for Thunder superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

He won the 2024-25 season’s scoring title and Most Valuable Player Award in helping his team coast to 68 wins, and parlayed that into a title win and Finals MVP bid. Then, one month ago, he was further rewarded with a new, $285 million deal that will keep him in OKC through 2030-31.

Now, he’s projected to win big in the future, too. Not only are the Thunder odds-on favorites to repeat, SGA is too.

Per FanDuel Sportsbook, Gilgeous-Alexander has +200 odds to repeat as the Most Valuable Player in the league, narrowly ousting three-time winner Nikola Jokic.

Gigleous-Alexander’s 32.7 points, 6.4 assists and 1.7 steals while shooting 52% overall on the league’s best team were hard to contend with last season. He saw one of the better guard seasons we've seen in decades, and the future odds are reflective of how he’s viewed following a title and Finals MVP, too.

The Thunder are bringing their title-winning squad back in its entirety next season, including new rookies in Thomas Sorber and Brooks Barnhizer, as well as 2024 draftee Nikola Topic. Additionally, the team could even continue to upgrade and re-shuffle with a cache of future picks still at their disposal.

Still, Jokic is likely closer in odds than many would think, coming in at +250. This, too, is a testament to his skill, as he and the Nuggets forced the eventual champs to a Game 7, largely behind his play. 

While SGA is the favorite, repeating at champion or MVP will be an uphill battle. Success brings with it even more attention, and the Thunder are sure to get team’s best shots on a nightly basis. Even more, awards are largely narrative driven, and can be doled out for a myriad of reasons outside of pure individual and team success.

Gilgeous-Alexander and Jokic lead the field odds-wise, followed up by the newly-inked Laker in Luka Doncic at +500, Bucks’ superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo at +1000, young soon-to-be superstar Victor Wembanyama at +1700, and Minnesota’s franchise cornerstone Anthony Edwards at +2100.

The Thunder will open up the 2025-26 season with six preseason bouts, starting with one against the Charlotte Hornets on Oct. 5.

• Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change. 
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