Shai Gilgeous-Alexander wins 2nd MVP

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander won the NBA’s 2025-26 Most Valuable Player award on Sunday, giving the Oklahoma City Thunder guard his second straight MVP and another individual honor before the start of the Western Conference finals. The league said Gilgeous-Alexander became the 14th player to win back-to-back MVPs. The award came after Oklahoma City finished atop the West and swept the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round to reach the conference finals. Game 1 against Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs is scheduled for Monday night in Oklahoma City. ### How rare is a second straight MVP for Gilgeous-Alexander? The NBA said Gilgeous-Alexander is the 14th player to win consecutive MVP awards and the 16th to win multiple MVPs since the award was introduced in the 1955-56 season. NBA.com said he joined a group this century that includes Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Steve Nash and Tim Duncan. May 17 was also nearly one year after Gilgeous-Alexander’s first MVP. NBA.com said he won the 2024-25 award on May 21, 2025, and added the second one four days short of a full calendar year later. ### What numbers defined his regular season? Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 31.1 points per game and finished second in the league in scoring, according to NBA.com. (nba.com) The league’s awards coverage said he also won Clutch Player of the Year this season, giving him two major individual awards in the same year. NBA.com’s statistical breakdown said he scored at least 20 points in all 68 of his regular-season games. (nba.com) The same report said he set an NBA record with 140 straight games of 20 or more points through the end of the regular season, had 43 games with at least 30 points, and became the only guard in league history to average more than 30 points while shooting better than 55% from the field. (nba.com) The league also said Gilgeous-Alexander led the NBA with 175 total clutch points and finished with the season’s highest overall plus-minus at 788. ### Who was in the final MVP race with him? Nikola Jokic and Victor Wembanyama were the other finalists, according to NBA.com. The league said international players finished first, second and third in MVP voting for the fifth consecutive season. (nba.com) The Associated Press report published by NBA.com said Gilgeous-Alexander’s win also marked the eighth straight year that the MVP was born outside the United States. (nba.com) Gilgeous-Alexander is Canadian, Jokic is Serbian and Wembanyama is French. ### What did people around the league say about him? Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said Gilgeous-Alexander’s core approach had not changed even as his game and leadership sharpened. “Who he is has never changed,” Daigneault said, according to the AP report on NBA.com. (nba.com) Los Angeles Lakers coach JJ Redick told the AP that Gilgeous-Alexander is “really hard to stop” because of his ability to create space in isolation. (nba.com) NBA Commissioner Adam Silver is expected to present the trophy at Monday’s game, NBA.com said. ### What comes next for Oklahoma City? Oklahoma City opens the Western Conference finals against San Antonio at 8:30 p.m. (nba.com) Eastern on Monday, May 18, according to the NBA playoff schedule. The series matches Gilgeous-Alexander against Wembanyama, with Games 1 and 2 set for Oklahoma City before the series shifts to San Antonio for Games 3 and 4. The NBA said the 2026 Finals are scheduled to begin on June 3 on ABC. (nba.com) If the Thunder advance, Gilgeous-Alexander would return to the championship round after adding a second MVP to the Finals MVP he won last June. (nba.com)