The case for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was simple. He’s the best player on an Oklahoma City Thunder team that had the best record this season and set a league mark for margin of victory. If that wasn’t enough, he also won the scoring title.
That’s an MVP year.
Gilgeous-Alexander was announced Wednesday as the NBA’s Most Valuable Player, his first time winning the award. His victory marked the seventh straight year that a player born outside the United States won MVP, extending the longest such streak in league history.
“You try so hard throughout the season to like not think about it and just worry about playing basketball and getting better and trying to win games,” Gilgeous-Alexander said on TNT, when the results were unveiled. “But as a competitor and as a kid dreaming about the game, it’s always in the back of your mind.”
It ultimately was a two-person race. Gilgeous-Alexander got 71 first-place votes and 29 second-place votes; Denver center Nikola Jokic got the other 29 first-place votes and the other 71 second-place votes.
Milwaukee forward Giannis Antetokounmpo was third, getting 88 of the 100 possible third-place votes.
Gilgeous-Alexander — the No. 11 pick in the 2018 draft — averaged 32.7 points, 6.4 assists and 5 rebounds per game this season, leading the Thunder to a 68-14 record. The Thunder outscored teams by 12.9 points per game, the biggest margin in league history.
He became the second Canadian to win MVP; Steve Nash won it twice. And Gilgeous-Alexander is the first guard to win MVP since James Harden in 2018.
“His value is his confidence,” Oklahoma City forward Kenrich Williams said of Gilgeous-Alexander, his Thunder teammate for the past five seasons. “His confidence that he has in himself and the confidence that he instills in every one of his teammates, including the coaches.”
Jokic — winner of three of the past four MVP awards — was second, despite a season for the ages. He averaged 29.6 points, 12.7 rebounds and 10.2 assists per game, the first center to average a triple-double and the first player to finish in the NBA’s top three in all three of those categories since they were tracked.
It was the sixth instance of a player finishing a season averaging a triple-double — at least 10 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds per game. Russell Westbrook did it four times and Oscar Robertson once, but only one of those triple-double seasons led to an MVP win.