NBA MVP Mondays: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander seals deal over Nikola Jokic
Yesterday at 05:44 PM
While the top NBA MVP rankings have remained the same for quite a long time, much has changed in the discussion between Nikola Jokic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander over the last few weeks. Aside from head-to-head matchups painting a clearer picture in this season’s MVP race, Gilgeous-Alexander has taken over and cemented himself as the clear favorite over Jokic due to what he’s been doing to teams across the NBA.
The Oklahoma City Thunder are 56-12 this season, just a half-game behind the Cleveland Cavaliers for the best record in the NBA. Although the Thunder are an elite defensive team, Gilgeous-Alexander makes this organization a true title threat. What SGA has accomplished against some of the best teams in the league during the regular season is remarkable, especially when you look at how he takes over games.
Since the start of March, the 26-year-old guard has averaged 37.6 points, 7.0 assists, and 1.3 steals per game while shooting 53.9 percent from the floor and 40.0 percent from three-point range. He has scored at least 25 points in every game this month, and Gilgeous-Alexander has scored less than 25 points in just two games since the start of 2025.
Gilgeous-Alexander leads all players in 25-point games (59), 30-point games (43), 40-point games (12), and 50-point games (4). No other player in the league has scored at least 50 points more than once this season, yet the Thunder star has done so on four different occasions. The most recent occurrence was on Mar. 3, as Gilgeous-Alexander had 51 points in a 137-128 win over the Houston Rockets.
On top of leading the league in scoring, SGA recorded 31 points against the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday night, giving him nine straight games with at least 30 points against the five best teams in the opposing conference this season. Michael Jordan is the only other player in league history to achieve such a feat.
Jokic is averaging a triple-double for the Denver Nuggets this season. We cannot discredit the marvelous season he’s endured to this point, but what Gilgeous-Alexander has done during this historic scoring season has earned him the league’s MVP award.
At this point, it would be shocking if he didn’t become the third player in Thunder franchise history to be named the NBA’s MVP.
Previous 2023-24 NBA MVP Rankings: Week 20 | Week 19 | Week 17 | Week 16 | Week 14 | Week 13 | Week 12 | Week 11 | Week 10 | Week 9 | Week 7 | Week 6 | Week 5 | Week 4 | Week 3 | Week 2 | Week 1
1. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander – Oklahoma City Thunder
Previous ranking: #1
2024-25 season stats: 66 games, 33.0 points, 6.2 assists, 5.0 rebounds, 1.8 steals, 1.0 blocks, 52.6 FG%, 37.1 3P%
Gilgeous-Alexander dropped 40 points on Jokic and the Nuggets in a 127-103 win on Mar. 9. He followed up that performance against Denver with another 25-point game against the Nuggets just a day later. However, the Thunder lost this game 140-127 to Denver.
This battle between SGA and Jokic has been razor-thin in recent weeks, especially after these two MVP hopefuls split their end-of-season meetings. The difference for Gilgeous-Alexander is what he has done to lead his team against some of the best teams in the league.
Oklahoma City went to Boston this past week and won 118-112 because of Gilgeous-Alexander’s 34 points and seven assists. He also had 33 points and 11 rebounds in a 13-point win over the Celtics earlier this season. To close out the week, Gilgeous-Alexander had 31 points against Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks the night after icing the Detroit Pistons for 48 points.
Shai has been a walking bucket this season. Whenever the Thunder finds themselves in a close game, he’s the one making the big shots that seal the deal on yet another Oklahoma City win. As good as Jokic has been in Denver, Gilgeous-Alexander has exceeded his level of play and will be why the Thunder enter the playoffs as championship favorites.
2. Nikola Jokic – Denver Nuggets
Previous ranking: #2
2024-25 season stats: 62 games, 29.1 points, 12.8 rebounds, 10.3 assists, 1.8 steals, 57.5 FG%, 41.3 3P%
Jokic is the only player in the NBA to rank inside the top three in scoring, rebounding, assists, and steals per game. On top of all that, he is averaging a triple-double on the season.
There isn’t anything Jokic can’t do, and Nuggets head coach Michael Malone continues to try and do everything he can to attract MVP voters to his side of the argument against Gilgeous-Alexander.
“Obviously Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is a great player. If he wins his first MVP, he’s deserving of that,” Malone said recently. “My thing is, if you didn’t know that Nikola won three MVPs, and I put player A and player B on paper, and you had no idea that the guy was averaging a triple-double, the guy who is top 3 in the three major statistical categories, things that no one’s ever done, he wins the MVP 10 times out of 10.
“And if you guys don’t think so, you’re full of s**t.
Malone’s argument makes a lot of sense for Jokic’s MVP campaign, and there is no doubt that he would be the league’s offensive player of the year if that were an award given out in the NBA. Unfortunately, Denver’s inconsistency and the fact that Oklahoma City will win the top spot in the Western Conference make it hard to argue against SGA’s case for the end-of-season award.
3. Giannis Antetokounmpo – Milwaukee Bucks
Previous ranking: #3
2024-25 season stats: 55 games, 30.4 points, 12.1 rebounds, 6.0 assists, 1.2 blocks, 60.3 FG%
If the Milwaukee Bucks were able to close out some games earlier this season and be right in the thick of things with the Boston Celtics for the 2-seed in the Eastern Conference, Giannis Antetokounmpo would have a legitimate argument for MVP over Jokic or Gilgeous-Alexander.
The two-time NBA MVP is averaging 30.4 points, 12.1 rebounds, and 6.0 assists per game while shooting over 60 percent from the floor. He is the only player to rank inside the top 10 in scoring, rebounding, and field goal percentage this season.
Although a triple-double against SGA and the Thunder definitely helped Giannis’ MVP case, a loss in this matchup on Sunday did not. Still, his 26 double-doubles since the start of the new year rank only behind Jokic (30) for the league lead in this category.
4. Jayson Tatum – Boston Celtics
Previous ranking: #4
2024-25 season stats: 63 games, 27.1 points, 8.7 rebounds, 5.9 assists, 1.1 steals, 45.4 FG%, 35.2 3P%
There is no denying that Jayson Tatum has been one of the best two-way players in the NBA this season. Amid all the injury problems that the Celtics have dealt with regarding Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porzingis, and Jaylen Brown at times, Tatum has remained the one constant for the defending champions.
This has been one of Tatum’s most efficient seasons, and he will once again be finishing inside the top five of the NBA MVP voting.
Since the All-Star break, the Celtics star is averaging 27.6 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 7.3 assists per game while shooting 45.3 percent from the floor. Over his last six games, Tatum is averaging just below 30 points per game. Boston has lost only one game in this span to Gilgeous-Alexander’s Thunder.
5. Donovan Mitchell – Cleveland Cavaliers
Previous ranking: #6
2024-25 season stats: 61 games, 24.2 points, 4.8 assists, 4.4 rebounds, 1.3 steals, 45.4 FG%, 35.2 3P%
The Cleveland Cavaliers will finish with over 60 wins for the third time in franchise history. Each of the previous two times this happened, LeBron James led the team. This franchise has done a fantastic job of rewriting their history without James, and they have done so with Donovan Mitchell as their top option.
Mitchell has not had the most efficient season of his career, but he’s been the best player on the best team in the Eastern Conference all year.
What makes the six-time All-Star a top-five MVP candidate is that he was willing to sacrifice his own stats and scoring numbers for the better of the team. His willingness to facilitate and play more off the ball has allowed Darius Garland to regain his All-Star form, and it’s also allowed Evan Mobley to become one of the best two-way big men in the entire NBA.
One player from the Cavs needs to be represented in the top five of the NBA MVP vote, and Mitchell is the one who gets the nod in these rankings this week.
Just missing the cut
6. Anthony Edwards – Minnesota Timberwolves (Ranked No. 9 last week)
7. LeBron James – Los Angeles Lakers (Ranked No. 5 last week)
8. Stephen Curry – Golden State Warriors (Ranked No. 8 last week)
9. Cade Cunningham – Detroit Pistons (Ranked No. 7 last week)
10. Jalen Brunson – New York Knicks (Ranked No. 10 last week)
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