The Oklahoma City Thunder were arguably the biggest surprise of the season. They jumped from finishing a win shy of the playoffs a year ago to claiming the first seed in the Western Conference.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s development into one of the best players in the league over the last two seasons is the largest reason. He’s had back-to-back seasons of top-five finishes in MVP voting.
This season, the 25-year-old was a much more active participant in the MVP conversation. He was named one of three finalists for the prestigious award along with Nikola Jokic and Luka Doncic.
Gilgeous-Alexander’s backcourt partner has had a front-row seat to his graduation to the league’s upper echelon.
Josh Giddey discussed the MVP candidate’s case and why Gilgeous-Alexander should win the award ahead of Game 1 against the Dallas Mavericks.
“He understands how good he is. He can take over a game any night. He’s a very unselfish superstar,” Giddey said about Gilgeous-Alexander. “He could go out and have 40 every night if he wanted to. That’s the type of scorer he is. … Very deserving of the MVP award.”
The MVP winner will be announced on Wednesday, May 8. Odds are, Jokic will win the award for the third time in his career. That doesn’t mean Gilgeous-Alexander doesn’t have a strong case though.
In 75 games, Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 30.1 points on 53.5% shooting, 6.2 rebounds and 5.5 assists. It’s one of the most efficient 30-plus point-scoring seasons by a guard in league history.
Even if Gilgeous-Alexander doesn’t win MVP, there’s no doubt he’s turned into one of the best players in the league. Considering his scoring profile, he’ll likely be in that conversation for several more years during his prime.
