Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Under Immense Pressure in Second-Round Playoff Series

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By JH Kubicek | Last updated May 7, 2025 3:21 PM ET

Despite a stellar 33-point outing in Game 1 from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the Oklahoma City Thunder fell to the Denver Nuggets. They will look to even up the series on Wednesday night, although social media and current players are already making something clear: Nikola Jokic is the best player in the world.

Fans have heard this song before. In 2023, the league gave Joel Embiid the MVP award, and it was immediately labelled a "cupcake" trophy issued simply to prevent Jokic from winning three in a row.

This year, SGA is the frontrunner to win over Jokic, and a second-round exit at the hands of the Nuggets would put Gilgeous-Alexander in the same camp as Embiid.

While SGA is under immense pressure, the same can't be said for Jokic. He already has a ring and won't win MVP this season, so he has less to prove.

"I think SGA is the MVP, but I think Jokic is the best player in the game," declared Jay Williams on ESPN. "And this is a moment in time where I want to see SGA turn into a postseason player. I know what he does in the regular season. We've seen this happen multiple times. This is a team that won 68 regular-season games. How many teams have come close to winning 70 regular-season games? I've seen it."

“I think this is a moment in time where [Shai Gilgeous-Alexander] can dethrone Jokic.” @RealJayWilliams says it’s time for SGA to show up in the Thunder-Nuggets series. pic.twitter.com/JtRyDRiehT
— First Take (@FirstTake) May 7, 2025

In the past, the "best player in the world" has been snubbed from winning the MVP several times (Shaq, Kobe, LeBron, etc), although, after Embiid stole the award in 2023, the pressure is on SGA to usurp Jokic, and he has a ripe opportunity in this series.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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