Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has officially placed himself among the greatest players the NBA has ever seen.
The Oklahoma City Thunder star was named the league’s Most Valuable Player for the second consecutive season on Sunday after leading Oklahoma City to another dominant regular season and the NBA’s best record.
Gilgeous-Alexander received 83 of 100 first-place votes, finishing well ahead of Nikola Jokic and Victor Wembanyama in the final vote.
At just 27 years old, he became only the seventh player in the last 40 years to win multiple MVP awards before the age of 28, joining names like LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Michael Jordan and Tim Duncan.
“It’s special,” Gilgeous-Alexander said at the MVP press conference. “All those guys shaped the game of basketball. All those guys changed the game and the way it was played and the way it was handled before that. Being in that circle, being in that conversation, it’s something I don’t take for granted. I’m very grateful for it.”
The Thunder guard averaged 31.1 points, 6.6 assists and shot a career-best 55.3 percent while leading Oklahoma City to a 64-18 record.
He also added the NBA Player of the Year award to his resume after finishing with a league-leading 175 points this season.
Despite his individual success, SGA has continued to focus on the people around him, crediting the Thunder organization and his teammates for helping elevate his game.
“The rest is just luck,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “As an NBA player, you can’t control other grown men in this business and I’m lucky enough to be surrounded by great people, from the front office, the coaching staff, to the guys I play with on the court every night. We all want to see the next guy win and do whatever it takes to win. We have that same goal. And yeah, I can’t take that.
“It’s more than me, it’s bigger than me.”
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