It was announced earlier today that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has become the second Canadian-born player to win the NBA’s Most Valuable Player award, beating out Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic and Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo.
SGA finished the regular season averaging 32 points, five rebounds, six assists, one block, and almost two steals per game, while shooting 38% from beyond the arc, 90% from the free throw line, and 52% from the field. With a 68-14 record to close the season, the Kentucky alum becomes the first Thunder player to win the award since Russell Westbrook in 2017.
Gilgeous-Alexander ranked third in STOCKS (combined steals and blocks), behind San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama and Atlanta’s Dyson Daniels, finishing the season with 208. In his third season, he shot over 50% from the floor and scored at least 30 points per game.
SGA received 71 first-place votes and totaled 913 points. Jokic earned 29 first-place votes and finished with 787 total points, while Antetokounmpo came in third with 470 points. This marks the seventh consecutive year that a non-American-born player has taken home the MVP award.
He also became the tenth player in NBA history to lead his team to 60 wins while also leading the league in scoring. The only player to do the same and not win MVP was Karl Malone in 1997, who lost the award to Michael Jordan.
The job’s not done, but SGA has a shot at becoming the first player since LeBron James in 2013 to win both the regular season MVP and Finals MVP in the same year.
Other awards announced today included Boston’s Payton Pritchard winning Sixth Man of the Year, and Cleveland Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson being named Coach of the Year.
