Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Wins Back-to-Back MVP: Why SGA Joining the 14-Player Club Matters
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has won his second consecutive NBA MVP award, putting him in a club of 14 players in league history to win back-to-back MVPs. That is rare air, and it confirms what anybody who watched the Thunder this year already knew. SGA is the best player in basketball right now.
The list of players to repeat as MVP is a who’s who of all-time legends. Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Tim Duncan, Steve Nash, LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokic. Now Shai. You do not sneak into that group, and you do not win two of these unless you are operating at a level very few players ever reach.
SGA took the Thunder to the best record in basketball, blew through the regular season with statistical efficiency that would make peak James Harden blush, and did it while playing on a roster that asks a lot of him on both ends of the floor. Two-way superstar guards are the rarest commodity in this league, and Oklahoma City has the best one.
The case for SGA was airtight. He led the league in scoring. The Thunder won a ton of games. His true shooting percentage was elite. He drew fouls at a historic clip, but unlike some recent MVP-winning seasons, his game did not feel like a free throw merchant act. SGA was getting downhill, creating midrange shots that no other guard in the league can hit consistently, and dragging his team to wins.
The bigger question is what comes next. The Thunder are now in the Western Conference Finals against San Antonio, and the pressure is on. Back-to-back MVPs without a championship gets you compared to Karl Malone whether you deserve it or not. SGA needs to deliver in the playoffs to make this MVP run feel complete.
The good news for OKC fans is that SGA has been showing up in the playoffs. He has averaged over 30 points per game in this postseason, and the Thunder have not really been tested yet. The Memphis series was over before it started. The second round did not last long. Now comes Victor Wembanyama and a Spurs team that nobody saw coming.
What makes SGA so tough to deal with is the in-between game. Everybody in the league shoots threes and dunks. Almost nobody can hit pull-up 12-footers off the dribble at his clip. That midrange shot is the reason SGA wins games against elite defenses. You cannot take it away, and you cannot funnel him into it because he hits it anyway.
This award puts SGA on a path that very few players ever walk. Three straight MVPs would put him in even more exclusive territory. Only Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, and Larry Bird have pulled that off. If he wins a title this year, that is going to be the conversation next season.
For now, Oklahoma City has the best player in the league and a team built around him. The hard part is just starting, but SGA has earned every bit of the spotlight. The next step is hoisting a trophy that does not have his name on it. The Larry O’Brien is the only one left.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
