After a dramatic surprise on Saturday night that the MVP was going to be announced on Sunday, Shams Charania broke the news that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the Oklahoma City Thunder superstar Guard, had become only the 14th player in NBA history to be named a back to back MVP.

SGA’s journey to the NBA started in Toronto, where he ended up becoming the face of one of the youngest franchises in the NBA, leading them to peaks they could not even achieve with prime Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook.

Shai’s back to back MVP’s represent something more than just his elite scoring abilites, the efficency he has been playing at, the leadership, the 2-way impact and the cumlative winning he was been able to accomplish in the last 3 years has solidified himself among the league’s all-time greats.

The Breakout Seasons Leading to MVP Contention

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s rise did not just happen this season, for the past 4 Years, SGA has been building up one of the most impressive resumes that Oklahoma City has ever seen, with it all starting in the 2022-23 season.

In his 4th season in Oklahoma after being traded from the Los Angeles Clippers, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander made the jump, averaging 31.4 Points, 4th in the league, enroute to his 1st All-Star selection and his 1st All-NBA 1st team, since then he has seemed like a lock for all 3.

Shai kept up his excelence in the 2023-24 season, where he racked up 30.1 Points and 150 steals, getting another All-NBA 1st team selection, also helping Canada on the global stage, beating the United States to win bronze in the 2023 FIBA World Cup.

The First MVP Season: Shai’s 2024-25 Campaign

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s 1st MVP win was inevntiable, ranking top 5 in voting in the last 2 years. During the regular season, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander played in 76 Games, averaging 32.7 Points, leading the NBA in scoring and claiming his 1st scoring title.

During this campaign, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander shot an impressive 51.9% from the field, 37.5% from 3 and 89.8% from the free throw, also contributing 5 Rebounds and a career high 6.4 Assists, to go along with his impressive 1.7 Blocks and career high 1 Block.

While he shot a rediculously high effiecncy, his low turnovers and elite net rating of +16.6 are just some of the reasons why he won the award. Shai also led the Thunder to a 68-14 record, one of the best records in NBA History.

Gilgeous-Alexander recieved 71 1st place votes, while making All-NBA 1st Team and the All-Star team. During the playoffs, Shai averaged 30 Points on his way to his 1st Western Conference Finals MVP, Championship and Finals MVP, where he beat the Indiana Pacers in a surprising 7 Games.

During the Finals, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 30.3 Points, 4.6 Rebounds and 5.6 Assists, leading the Thunder to the 1st Championship in franchise history after sealing the deal in Game u with 29 Points and 12 Assists after Haliburton’s achilles tear.

During this season, Shai became only the 4th Player in NBA history, joining Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Micharl Jordan and Shaquile O’Neal, as the only players to win the scoring title, regular-season MVP, Finals MVP and the championship in the same season.

Defending the Crown: Efficiency Monster and Back-to-Back MVP

Defending both his MVP and Championship crown, Gilgeous-Alexander showed up, and in 68 Games, he averaged 31.1 Points, the 2nd most in the NBA, while also adding 4.3 Rebounds, 6.6 Assists, 1.4 Steals and 0.8 Blocks, a testament to his all-around game.

Gilgeous-Alexander shot 55.3% from the field, not only a career best, but making him the only player to win MVP while shooting 55%+ from the field, while still shooting a career best 37.6% from 3 and 87.9% from the line.

His historical effiency combined with a rare combo of volume at all levels of scoring is only comparable to prime Kevin Durant, with high points per touch (1 Point per 2 Touches) of the basketball and relatively low turnovers (2.2 TPG) for such a high usage guard.

Despite injuries sustained by himself, Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder to 64 Wins, the best in the NBA despite limited games from Williams, with only a dfew key role players playing over 70 games.

From a league wide perspective, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s league leading clutch performance and elite net raing is what beat out strong canadidates like Victor Wembanyama and Nikola Jokic, becoming only the 14th player to ever win back to back MVP’s.

Conclusion and Future Outlook

With a resume that now contains 2 MVP’s, Scoring Title, 3x All-NBA 1st Team, 4x All-Star starter, and a Championship and Finals MVP, potentially 2 after ntering the Western Conference Finals as heavy favourite to repeat, SGA is building a impressive resume at only the age of 27.

The Thunder’s contension window is still wide open, with all the key players on the roster below the age of 30 Years old. If he keeps on scoring at this level and chasing more rings, he could become one of the best to ever do it.

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