Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander becomes the 14th player to win back-to-back Kia MVPs.
He is commonly known by his initials because three letters are a lot easier on the tongue than pronouncing the full 21 in that hyphenated name, stretched so long on his jersey it requires a winding arc, much like a jump shot leaving his fingertips.
And so it is, three letters that announce him, three letters that define him, three symbolic letters.
Yes, M-V-P. Times two now.
Oh, and SGA. That, too.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the league MVP, again, and when anyone enters that select company — 13 players have won in consecutive years, and he becomes just the fifth guard to do so — he leaves a certain legacy. And that’s if he’s finished playing. At 27 years old, Gilgeous-Alexander still has plenty of time to add another layer or two to an already firm case for greatness.
At this stage, a player begins to enter all-time territory and earn mention in hot debates. Space is cleared in the arena ceiling for the now-inevitable jersey retirement, and along the wall in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, maybe a possible statue by the front door of the arena, the whole nine. It’s safe to say Gilgeous-Alexander is on that seldom-beaten path and again, his journey hasn’t even scaled the mountaintop yet.
“He’s the MVP of the league,” said Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker. “He’s been playing the best basketball in the league for the past two years.”
How did this happen?
Everything fell in place for Gilgeous-Alexander — winning games, his own development and the changing forces within the league.
Gilgeous-Alexander has taken full advantage of the stylistic shift in the NBA, which favors a spread floor and an emphasis on isolation attack. He worked himself to fit that style and nothing was given. As a scorer, an open floor and the green light are gifts from the basketball gods in today’s game. Especially for a guard, as this style wasn’t available decades ago, before analytics, before the emphasis on the 3-point shot and certainly not when big men took most of the shots and were precious in a sport that rewarded size.
The game still favors players of a certain height. Consider that in the last 25 years, only seven guards before Gilgeous-Alexander managed to win the game’s most coveted individual award. Only Gilgeous-Alexander, Stephen Curry and Steve Nash have done so more than once.
His timing was perfect in another sense, though. Gilgeous-Alexander was traded from the LA Clippers to an Oklahoma City team that craved an offensive star in the wake of losing Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden, three former MVPs and scoring champions.
The club built itself around his skills. He also received a year of tutoring from Chris Paul who – much like former Clippers assistant coach Sam Cassell – sold Gilgeous-Alexander on the value of the mid-range pull-up shot. This enabled Gilgeous-Alexander to develop multiple sweet spots 15 feet from the hoop.
“He’s ruthlessly consistent in the invisible spaces,” said Thunder coach Mark Daigneault. “It’s no accident that he is the player he is. He literally chiseled himself into this player.”
Yes, none of this would be possible without the work. The constant repetitive drills to sharpen his release and his footwork have long paid off. His slick ability to create space from his defender with a slight forearm shove (just legally), followed by a step back and elevation made him a tough assignment for defenders, who are careful not to foul.
Also, speaking of defense, his own ability to apply the clamps — it helps to be 6-foot-6 with quick hands and long arms — made Gilgeous-Alexander a certified two-way player. How many other big-time scorers in NBA history also carried high value as a defender? Michael Jordan comes to mind, obviously. But few others, if any.
And this is where the conversation begins about Gilgeous-Alexander and where he fits in history.
A masterful work in progress
He’s still a work in progress in terms of elevating among the truly elites, top-10 territory. But that’s favorable to him because … he’s still a work in progress. He’s just in his eighth season, with room for growth and perhaps five more peak, MVP-flavored seasons ahead. It’s not time for reflection just yet.
Today, he’s on the same plane as another Canadian guard (Nash) who also has back-to-back MVPs. They’re vastly different players, as Nash was a pass-first point guard and better 3-point shooter. Nash was helpful when Gilgeous-Alexander was starting to develop and gain traction in the league. Of course, Gilgeous-Alexander already has an NBA title, while Nash retired without one (or even an NBA Finals berth).
There are a select few players with only one MVP — Kobe Bryant, for starters — whose legacies, impact and influence are currently and perhaps permanently beyond Gilgeous-Alexander’s reach.
A third MVP would strengthen Gilgeous-Alexander’s case in other ways. Although in that scenario, the greatness guidelines begin to toughen. Players with that many awards were game-changers and legends. Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, both three-time winners, rescued the NBA and helped make it a multi-billion-dollar enterprise. Even a two-time winner such as Curry revolutionized the 3-point shot.
And that’s if Gilgeous-Alexander gets a third MVP. There’s the very real possibility that Victor Wembanyama, a finalist this year, is just warming up.
But that’s a discussion for the future.
A man of the moment
Gilgeous-Alexander is working on a second championship and the Thunder, as constructed, are built to endure. Most of OKC’s key players in the rotation age 25 and younger and the franchise is flush with future assets. His place in history could have as many championships as MVPs, or maybe more, and that powerful combination would be hard for anyone, retired or still active, to beat or match.
This much is certain: Gilgeous-Alexander has surpassed all expectations. He leveled up much higher than anyone imagined, even those staunch believers such as Kentucky coach John Calipari, former Clippers coach Doc Rivers and former Thunder coach Billy Donovan, all of whom placed no limits on Gilgeous-Alexander’s future when they coached him during his earliest stages, yet still:
We thought he’d be good … but not this good. That was the shared refrain from the choir.
Well — and this does come as a surprise based on his first few years in the league — he’s that good now.
He’s averaging more than 30 points the last four seasons without shooting below 51% in any of them. This season, no guard has ever shot as well (55%) and scored as much (31.1) in a single season.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander passes Wilt Chamberlain with his 127th straight game with 20+ points in a win over the Celtics.
He broke Wilt Chamberlain’s 20-point streak. He’s making scoring look effortless because he never seems to be rushed, rarely takes bad shots, remains rhythmic, always seems comfortable anywhere on the floor and regardless of who was guarding him. That scoring acumen puts him in historic company.
The Thunder are blessed to have him if only because of what he said just hours after the team raised its first banner last fall on Opening Night.
An NBA champion, NBA Finals MVP coming off an MVP season — in other words, a player who seemingly accomplished it all — was very blunt when he challenged himself:
“I need to be better.”
In the 2025-26 regular season, it’s now official: He is better. And an all-timer.
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Shaun Powell has covered the NBA since 1985. You can e-mail him at spowell@nba.com, find his archive here and follow him on X.
