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Oklahoma City Thunder superstar guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has won his first career NBA MVP award for the 2024-25 season.
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ESPN's Shams Charania shared the news via X.
Breaking: Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has won the NBA MVP award, sources tell ESPN.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) May 21, 2025
Gilgeous-Alexander was the odds-on favorite to win the award for most of the season and now takes home one of the ultimate honors in the sport.
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The 2024-25 season was one for the books for the 26-year-old superstar. In it, he led his team to an NBA-best 68 wins, led the NBA in scoring (32.7 points per game), scored 20+ points in 72 consecutive games, led the NBA in 20-point games (75), led the NBA in 30-point games (49), led the NBA in 40-point games (13), and led the NBA in 50-point games (4).
During the season, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander put up remarkable numbers, averaging 32.7 points on an efficient 51.9 percent shooting from the field. He also contributed 6.4 assists, 5.0 rebounds, 1.7 steals, and 1.0 blocks per game. Michael Jordan is the only other player in NBA history to reach those thresholds—at least 30 points on 50 percent shooting, along with five rebounds, five assists, 1.5 steals, and one block per game.
As for the runner-up, Nuggets three-time MVP Nikola Jokic, made a case for himself. Jokic averaged 29.6 points per game in the season, 12.7 rebounds, 10.2 assists and 1.8 steals. He became the third player to record a triple-double in a season. The other two are Russell Westbrook, who won the 2017 MVP award with his triple-double season, and Oscar Robertson, who did so during the 1961-62 NBA season.
Robertson lost the MVP to Boston Celtics legend and Hall of Famer, Bill Russell.
Gilgeous-Alexander is coming off a strong Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals that saw him record 31 points, five rebounds, nine assists, and three steals in 38 minutes of action.
The Canadian superstar also became the seventh consecutive international player to win the MVP award, adding to Gilgeous-Alexander's resume. In his career, Gilgeous-Alexander is a three-time All-Star, a two-time All-NBA First Team, and the scoring champion this season.
The Thunder are playing in their first conference finals this decade and, according to FanDuel Sportsbooks, have the best odds to hoist the Larry O'Brien Trophy, with -250 odds.
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About the writer
Ricardo Sandoval is a Newsweek contributor based in Los Angeles, CA. His focus is sports content. Ricardo has been with Newsweek since 2024 and also writes ... Read more