Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been named the NBA’s Most Valuable Player, capping a breakout year in which he led the Oklahoma City Thunder to a league-best 68 wins and the franchise’s deepest playoff run since the Kevin Durant era.
The 26-year-old guard, who will be officially honored on Wednesday night, edged out Denver’s Nikola Jokić for the award after finishing runner-up to the Serbian star last season. Gilgeous-Alexander became the first Thunder player to win MVP since Russell Westbrook in 2017, and only the third in team history, alongside Westbrook and Durant.
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Gilgeous-Alexander is the first Canadian to win the award since Steve Nash in 2006. He also continues a run of players from outside the US claiming the award. The last US-born player to win the award was James Harden in 2018. Since then Greece’s Giannis Antetokounmpo has won the award twice and Serbia’s Jokić on three occasions. Joel Embiid, who represents the US at international level, but was born and raised in Cameroon, was named MVP in 2023.
Gilgeous-Alexander averaged a league-high 32.7 points per game on 51.9% shooting, adding 6.4 assists, 5.0 rebounds, 1.7 steals and 1.0 blocks. His all-around excellence powered an Oklahoma City team that not only topped the standings but also set an NBA record with a plus-12.9 average point differential.
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— NBA (@NBA) May 22, 2025
He joins Michael Jordan as the only players to average at least 30 points on 50% shooting with five rebounds, five assists, 1.5 steals and one blocked shot in a season. It’s the third consecutive year Gilgeous-Alexander has topped 30 points per game while shooting better than 50%, a feat previously matched only by legends like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jordan.
His impact went beyond scoring. Gilgeous-Alexander was instrumental in the Thunder’s top-ranked defense, tallying 208 combined steals and blocks, third-most in the league behind Victor Wembanyama and Dyson Daniels.
With Oklahoma City squarely in title contention, Gilgeous-Alexander is also poised to become the NBA’s highest-paid player. He qualifies this summer for a four-year, $294m supermax extension – the richest annual deal in league history.
