With the all-star weekend upon us, roughly 27-30 games are left for teams across the league. First place in the Western Conference is the Oklahoma City Thunder at 44-10.
In 2024-25, PG Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is having an incredibly dominant season for OKC. Recently, ESPN released their results from the latest straw polls. ESPN’s Tim Bontemps noted that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has a firm lead ahead of Denver’s Nikola Jokic.
Barring a major collapse, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will likely win MVP
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Moves Ahead Of Nikola Jokic In Latest NBA MVP Straw Poll https://t.co/QpY8pVaROc
— RealGM (@RealGM) February 14, 2025
Over three of the last four NBA seasons, Nikola Jokic has won MVP. The one time he did not win, he came in second place to Joel Embiid. Around professional sports awards, there is something known as voter fatigue. Media members get bored voting for the same player year after year and Nikola Jokic could be falling victim to that. There’s a real chance voters do not want to hand him his 4th MVP award in five seasons.
That plays into why Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the favorite to win MVP in 2024-25. According to odds via BetOnline, SGA is (-500) to win the award. Additionally, ESPN’s latest straw polls have Gilgeous-Alexander ahead of Jokic. Oklahoma City’s MVP candidate received 70 first-place votes and 30 second-place votes. Denver’s Nikola Jokic received 30 first-place votes, 69 second-place votes, and 1 third-place vote.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging a league-leading (32.5) points per game this season. That is also a new career-high for the 26-year-old. It’s his third consecutive season averaging 30+ points per game. He also averages (5.1) rebounds, (6.1) assists and (1.9) steals. In 53 games this season, SGA has three 50+ point performances. All three have happened in one month. The 2024-25 MVP is Gilgeous-Aexander’s to lose. Barring a major collapse, he will likely win MVP this season.
