Shai Gilgeous-Alexander To Be Named MVP

The Thunder guard put up similar numbers to his MVP campaign from last year. In 68 games, he averaged 31.1 points, 4.3 rebounds and 6.6 assists while shooting 55.3% from the field and 38.6% from three-point range. He helped Oklahoma City post a league-high 64 regular season wins and sweep its way through the first two rounds of the playoffs.

SGA is the 14th player in NBA history to claim back-to-back MVP honors and the first since Nikola Jokic did it in 2021 and 2022. Charania notes that he’s the first guard to win consecutive MVPs since Stephen Curry and the first backcourt player ever to average at least 30 PPG in a season while shooting better than 55% from the field. He also joins Michael Jordan as the only players to average at least 30 points and five assists while shooting 50% for four straight years.

Gilgeous-Alexander scored at least 20 points in every game he played this season, reaching a milestone previously only accomplished by Wilt Chamberlain and Elgin Baylor. His league-leading plus/minus rating of +788 for the season is far ahead of runner-up Victor Wembanyama, who was at +682.

Gilgeous-Alexander has a chance to move into the record book alongside Jordan, Bill Russell and LeBron James as the only players ever to win consecutive titles and back-to-back MVP trophies, per Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints (Twitter link).

ESPN’s Bobby Marks points out that SGA currently ranks 34th in the league in salary, and that his current figure at 24.8% of the cap will dip to 24.6% next season (Twitter link). He’ll move near the top in 2027/28 when his super-max extension kicks in.

Jokic and Wembanyama are the other finalists for this year’s award. Although Charania’s report takes the drama out of tonight’s announcement, Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press states that Jokic still has a chance to join Russell and Larry Bird as the only players ever to finish in the top two in MVP voting for six consecutive years (Twitter link).