Thunder All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's 40-game MVP take is perfect
01/13/2025 01:03 PM
After the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Washington Wizards in a 136-95 blowout win, All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander weighed in on his place in the Most Valuable Player conversation. During his postgame media availability, Gilgeous-Alexander addressed being an MVP candidate.
Surpassing Denver Nuggets' 2024 MVP Nikola Jokic, Gilgeous-Alexander is the leading favorite for the illustrious honor. However, he believes it's still too early in the season for him to be crowned, per The Oklahoman's Joel Lorenzi.
"MVPs are never won after 40 games," Gilgeous-Alexander said. "40 more of these, and yeah, sure."
Gilgeous-Alexander's MVP-caliber production is a key reason the Thunder are leading the Western Conference throughout the 2024-25 campaign. He averages 31.4 points, 5.9 assists, 5.5 rebounds, 2.0 steals, and 1.1 blocks per game, and SGA has dominated both ends of the floor.
He won two NBA Player of the Month awards this season and remains on a 25+ point-scoring streak that extended to eight in Sunday's win against the Wizards. Gilgeous-Alexander has scored over 25 points in 29 of his last 32 outings. And without Chet Holmgren, he's led the Thunder to a triumphant season, including a franchise-record 15-game win streak, including Oklahoma City winning 17 of its previous 18 outings.
Still, Gilgeous-Alexander has long-term goals that remain out of reach this early into the regular season. And when a reporter asked him if he considers himself an all-time great without a championship, Shai admits he hasn't entered that conversation yet, per The Oklahoman's Joel Lorenzi.
"For me, you have to win. Until I do that, I don't put myself in those guys' stratosphere," Gilgeous-Alexander said. "I can't because I haven't won on the biggest stage in the world. I just haven't done that yet, and until then, I don't think I should be in those conversations."
He finished with 27 points, seven rebounds, four assists, and two steals in the Thunder's win against the Wizards.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's revealing take on Thunder's loss vs. Cavs
After the Cavs snapped their 15-game win streak, Gilgeous-Alexander revealed the lessons the Thunder learned against the Cavs. The Thunder All-Star says the loss made them a better team.
"A lot of games left. We have a chance to go on many streaks. The season didn't end with that game. We've played in games where our season did end," Gilgeous-Alexander said. "So, it definitely wasn't devastating. We definitely have a lot of basketball to get better. At the end of the night, we got better that night, and that's the outcome for us."
The Thunder will finish their four-game road trip against the 76ers Tuesday night.
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