Shai Gilgeous‑Alexander wins second MVP

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander won the NBA’s 2025-26 Most Valuable Player award on May 17, giving the Oklahoma City Thunder guard his second straight MVP and putting him among a small group of back-to-back winners. The NBA and the Thunder announced the award Sunday, one day before Oklahoma City opened the Western Conference finals at home against the San Antonio Spurs. NBA.com said Gilgeous-Alexander became the 14th player to win consecutive MVPs. The award is for regular-season play, and it followed another No. 1 seed for Oklahoma City. ### How strong was his regular season? Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 31.1 points per game in 2025-26 while leading Oklahoma City to a 64-18 record, according to NBA and CBS Sports reports. NBA.com said he also won the league’s Clutch Player of the Year award this season. CBS Sports reported that his scoring ranked second in the league behind Luka Doncic. (nba.com) The Thunder finished with the NBA’s best record for a second straight season, and Yahoo Sports said Gilgeous-Alexander entered the postseason still producing at a high level. NBC’s regional coverage said the award kept intact a recent run of internationally born MVPs, with Gilgeous-Alexander, who is Canadian, extending that streak to eight straight years. (nba.com) ### Where does this place him historically? NBA.com said Gilgeous-Alexander is the 14th player in league history to win back-to-back MVP awards. That places him in a group that includes some of the league’s most decorated stars, though the NBA’s official release focused on the count rather than a broader ranking of his place in history. (sports.yahoo.com) The Thunder’s own release said he received the Michael Jordan Trophy as the 2025-26 Kia NBA Most Valuable Player. The award gave Gilgeous-Alexander his second major individual honor of the season after Clutch Player of the Year. ### Who finished behind him in the voting? NBC Sports reported that Nikola Jokic finished second behind Gilgeous-Alexander in MVP voting. (nba.com) Other coverage cited Victor Wembanyama among the leading candidates, but the clearest verified runner-up in the reporting reviewed was Jokic. Yahoo Sports described the result as the cap to another elite regular season for Gilgeous-Alexander. (nba.com) The official NBA release did not include a full vote breakdown in the excerpts surfaced, but multiple reports matched on the outcome and the back-to-back distinction. ### When did he receive the trophy? (nbcnewyork.com) Adam Silver presented Gilgeous-Alexander with the MVP trophy before Game 1 of the Western Conference finals on May 18 in Oklahoma City, according to Sportsnet and ESPN video coverage surfaced in search results. The ceremony took place before the Thunder faced the Spurs. (sports.yahoo.com) Yahoo Sports reported that the celebration came before a difficult night for Oklahoma City, with the Spurs winning Game 1 in double overtime. The same report said Gilgeous-Alexander began the night by accepting the trophy from Silver. ### What comes next for Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder? (sportsnet.ca) San Antonio beat Oklahoma City 122-115 in double overtime in Game 1 on May 18, according to Yahoo Sports and other game coverage returned in search results. That means Gilgeous-Alexander’s next immediate task is the Thunder’s attempt to level the Western Conference finals against Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs. (sports.yahoo.com) The NBA’s official announcement is already on the record, and the next public marker in this story is Oklahoma City’s next conference-finals game in the Spurs series. Gilgeous-Alexander entered that stage as the league’s reigning MVP for a second consecutive year, with Silver having handed him the Michael Jordan Trophy on May 18. (nba.com) (sports.yahoo.com)