NBA MVP Mondays: Will Shai Gilgeous-Alexander earn unanimous honors?
03/24/2025 05:43 PM
Nikola Jokic has been incredible for the Denver Nuggets this season, but he has missed four straight games at a pivotal time in the NBA’s MVP race. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been slowly pulling away and widening the gap in this race since the start of March. Plus, Jokic’s ankle injury has allowed the Oklahoma City Thunder star to increase his lead to a point where only an injury will allow someone else to catch him.
As a result, could Gilgeous-Alexander make history in this MVP race by joining Stephen Curry as the second player in NBA history to be named the unanimous MVP?
This is certainly worth discussing at this point, as Gilgeous-Alexander has every single metric backing him. Aside from leading the league in scoring, Shai has led a Thunder team that continues to make history. Not only does Oklahoma City have the best record in the league, but this organization is on pace to become the seventh different team to win at least 68 games in a season.
Overall, Gilgeous-Alexander’s best qualities are his unselfishness and leadership. That is what makes him the most valuable player to the Thunder.
“We always say a leader is the person doing the right thing,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault recently said of his young star. “And he walks the walk.”
Although Jokic has put up equally as impressive numbers as Gilgeous-Alexander with less talent around him, there is no denying the Thunder’s dominance this year as a result of Shai’s leadership.
The only question between now and the end of the season is whether every MVP voter agrees that Gilgeous-Alexander should be the unanimous winner. Nonetheless, he will become the third player in Thunder history to win the NBA MVP award.
Previous 2023-24 NBA MVP Rankings: Week 21 | 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: 68 games, 32.8 points, 6.3 assists, 5.0 rebounds, 1.8 steals, 1.0 blocks, 52.2 FG%, 37.0 3P%
Gilgeous-Alexander only played two games this past week, impressing in both performances. After recording 30 points and nine assists in a 141-106 thrashing of the Charlotte Hornets, SGA put the Thunder on his back with 28 points and eight assists in a tight 103-101 win over the LA Clippers.
He has now scored at least 25 points in 14 straight games, including a 51-point performance against the Houston Rockets and a 48-point performance against the Detroit Pistons earlier in March. The Thunder understand just how valuable Gilgeous-Alexander is, and Chet Holmgren is one of the main voices leading his NBA MVP campaign.
“He never has to pass the ball, that's how good he is, but he understands how to make other people around him better. He just makes the team better,” Holmgren said of his team’s star. “I think the most important thing that he's done is using his ability and gravity to make everyone better. I think that, mixed in with the stats, highlights, and wins, it makes it hard to not see an MVP case here.”
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 has not played since Mar. 15 due to a right elbow contusion and left ankle impingement. Since the All-Star break, Jokic has been banged up and battling through multiple ailments at the same time, resulting in his missed time down the stretch run of the season.
The Nuggets have gone 2-2 without Jokic on the court, recently picking up key wins over the Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets.
After missing his 10th game of the season against Houston on Sunday, head coach Michael Malone said he expects his team’s MVP to return at some point during their upcoming five-game homestand starting on Monday. To remain eligible for MVP and other honors, Jokic is only allowed to miss seven more games.
3. Giannis Antetokounmpo – Milwaukee Bucks
Previous ranking: #3
2024-25 season stats: 58 games, 30.2 points, 12.0 rebounds, 5.9 assists, 1.2 blocks, 59.9 FG%
Last season, Giannis Antetokounmpo averaged 30.4 points per game while shooting 61.1 percent from the floor. This season, he’s averaged 30.2 points per game while shooting 59.9 percent from the floor, giving him a chance to replicate the 30 points on 60 percent shooting season.
The bottom line is that Antetokounmpo is the best player in the league inside the three-point line and continues to score at will whenever he wants. Giannis has scored at least 25 points in eight of his 12 games in March, failing to hit a single 3-pointer in any of these games.
4. Jayson Tatum – Boston Celtics
Previous ranking: #4
2024-25 season stats: 65 games, 27.2 points, 8.7 rebounds, 5.9 assists, 1.1 steals, 45.4 FG%, 34.9 3P%
The Boston Celtics are beginning to turn things on ahead of the playoffs and look like the defending champions they are. Jayson Tatum has played a huge role in this success, averaging 28.5 points and 8.1 rebounds per game while shooting 44.9 percent from the floor in March. As a result, the Celtics have lost just one game when Tatum has played this month.
Tatum led the Celtics to a 2-0 record in the games he played last week, highlighted by a 29-point, nine-rebound, and nine-assist performance in a 129-116 win over the Portland Trail Blazers.
This has been yet another All-NBA First Team season for Tatum, and he will again finish inside the top five of the MVP voting.
5. LeBron James – Los Angeles Lakers
Previous ranking: #7
2024-25 season stats: 59 games, 24.9 points, 8.5 assists, 8.2 rebounds, 1.3 steals, 51.6 FG%, 38.4 3P%
While LeBron James recently returned from his groin injury, his impact is clear. The Los Angeles Lakers need James on the floor next to Luka Doncic if they are to be championship contenders, and his value has been immeasurable at times throughout the season.
To be recording the numbers he is at 40 years old is incredible. Outside of ranking 12th in scoring, LeBron is also tied for 20th in rebounding and sixth in assists. James, Jokic, and Domantas Sabonis are the only players to rank inside the top 20 in scoring, rebounds, and assists this season.
The bottom line is that Los Angeles needs LeBron to win games, hence why he is their MVP. Without James, due to his groin injury, the Lakers went 3-4, losing games to the Brooklyn Nets, Milwaukee Bucks, and Denver Nuggets. With LeBron back on the floor, the Lakers will make a strong push for the 2-seed in the West.
Just missing the cut
6. Anthony Edwards – Minnesota Timberwolves (Ranked No. 6 last week)
7. Stephen Curry – Golden State Warriors (Ranked No. 8 last week)
8. Cade Cunningham – Detroit Pistons (Ranked No. 9 last week)
9. Donovan Mitchell – Cleveland Cavaliers (Ranked No. 5 last week)
10. Jalen Brunson – New York Knicks (Ranked No. 10 last week)
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