Shai Gilgeous-Alexander wins NBA MVP over Nikola Jokić, concluding hotly debated race

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was named NBA MVP over Nikola Jokić on Wednesday in one of the most debated and contested MVP races in recent memory.
The MVP is the first for Gilgeous-Alexander, who led the Oklahoma City Thunder to the NBA's best record as the league's leading scorer. Gilgeous-Alexander finished in the top five of MVP voting in the previous two seasons as a first-team All-NBA selection.
Now, at 26 years old, he's claimed the league's top individual honor as his own and etched his name alongside the greats of NBA history. Giannis Antetokounmpo was also a finalist.
Gilgeous-Alexander secured 71 of the 100 first-place votes, while Jokić received the remaining 29. No other player received first- or second-place votes.
A global media panel of 100 voters selected the winner of the 2024-25 Kia NBA Most Valuable Player Award.The complete voting results ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/j4nqOAWVT2
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) May 21, 2025
In 76 regular-season games, Gilgeous-Alexander averaged a league-best 32.7 points alongside 6.4 assists and 4.1 rebounds per game while shooting 51.9% from the field and 37.5% on 5.7 3-point attempts per game. He was a standout on defense who averaged 1.7 steals and one block per game for a team that led the NBA in defensive rating with 106.6 points allowed per 100 possessions.
He did all of this during a dominant season for the Thunder in which they clinched the No. 1 seed in the West on March 20 with 13 games remaining on their regular-season schedule. Oklahoma City finished the regular season at 68-14, 16 games ahead of the second-place Houston Rockets (52-30) in the West and four games ahead of the Cleveland Cavaliers, who finished the season with the NBA's second-best record (64-18).
Gilgeous-Alexander's package of excellence on both sides of the ball for the NBA's best team ultimately compelled voters to award him his first MVP and deny Jokić his fourth.
Jokić, who won three of the previous four NBA MVPs for the Denver Nuggets, made a strong case for his fourth with a campaign that stands as one of the greatest individual statistical seasons in NBA history.
In 70 regular-season games, Jokić averaged 29.6 points, 12.7 rebounds, 10.2 assists, 1.8 steals and 0.6 blocks while shooting 57.6% from the floor and 41.7% on 4.7 3-point attempts per game. Jokić joined Oscar Robertson and Russell Westbrook as the only players in NBA history to average a triple-double for a full season.
Jokić also rated elite in advanced metrics and finished the season with the fourth-highest player efficiency rating (PER) in NBA history (32.04), trailing only his 2021-22 MVP self (32.85), 1961-62 Wilt Chamberlain (32.08) and 2021-22 Giannis Antetokounmpo (32.05).
Gilgeous-Alexander also rated well with the 25th-best PER in league history (30.66), but his PER profile didn't match up with Jokić's. He did edge Jokić in win shares per 48 minutes, another advanced statistical profile that's given considerable weight in evaluating individual performances.
Gilgeous-Alexander led the league with .309 win shares per 48 minutes, just ahead of Jokić's .307. Cleveland's Jarrett Allen finished a distant third with .243, while MVP finalist Antetokounmpo finished with .241.
For a seventh straight season, Jokić led a Nuggets team without another All-Star into the playoffs as the No. 4 seed in the West with a 50-32 record. The Nuggets were a completely different team with Jokić off the floor. With Jokić on the court, Denver outscored its opponents by 594 points. Without Jokić, opponents outscored the Nuggets by 275.
By comparison, a superior Thunder team outscored opponents with Gilgeous-Alexander on the court by an overwhelming 918 points. The Thunder were still better without Gilgeous-Alexander and outscored opponents by 137 points when he was on the bench.
The MVP finalists met on the floor in the second round of the playoffs, where Gilgeous-Alexander also got the upper hand on Jokić. Gilgeous-Alexander's Thunder concluded a hotly contested seven-game series in the Western Conference semifinals with a Game 7 blowout of the Nuggets on Sunday, ending Denver's hopes of a second NBA championship in three seasons.
The Thunder advanced to face the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Western Conference finals and won Game 1 in a runaway Tuesday night. Playoff results had no bearing on MVP voting, which was tallied at the conclusion of the regular season.
Ultimately, Gilgeous-Alexander was the best player on the league's best team and the league's leading scorer. And that proved to be enough for voters to separate Gilgeous-Alexander from Jokić in an MVP debate that won't end because the trophy's been handed out.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Chicago Tribune

28 minutes ago

• Chicago Tribune

Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton suffers lower right leg injury in Game 7 of NBA Finals

By TIM REYNOLDS OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Indiana's Tyrese Haliburton, who was playing with a strained right calf, went down with a lower right leg injury in the first quarter of Game 7 of the NBA Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday night and immediately began punching the court in frustration. Haliburton put no weight on the leg as was taken to the Pacers' locker room for evaluation. Virtually the entire Indiana playing, coaching and medical staff surrounded him on the court once he got hurt. There was no immediate word from the Pacers on the severity of the non-contact injury. Haliburton had nine points, all on 3-pointers, when he got hurt with 4:55 left in the quarter. ___ AP NBA:

Yahoo

31 minutes ago

• Yahoo

NBA Finals Game 7: Tyrese Haliburton needs help off court, ruled out after appearing to re-injure strained right calf

Tyrese Haliburton was ruled out of Game 7 of the NBA Finals after sustaining a right-leg injury. (AP Photo/Nate Billings) Indiana Pacers All-Star Tyrese Haliburton left Game 7 of the NBA Finals Sunday after appearing to re-injure the same calf that he strained in Game 5. The Pacers ruled him out for the rest of the game in the second quarter with a right lower-leg injury. Advertisement Haliburton fell to the floor in the first quarter against the Oklahoma City Thunder and pounded the court in immediate, obvious pain. His Pacers teammates came out to surround him after the ensuing stoppage in play. Haliburton couldn't walk and eventually needed to be helped off the floor to the Pacers locker room. He hopped on one foot to the tunnel with the aid of a teammate and trainer, unable to put weight on his injured leg. He had a towel over his head as he made his way toward the locker room. Haliburton's father, John Haliburton, put his head in his hand while watching from the stands. The injury is a devastating blow, not only to Haliburton and the Pacers, but to an NBA Finals that reached a Game 7 for the first time since 2016. Advertisement "It's a heartbreak, man," Pacers center Myles Turner told ESPN's Lisa Salters after the first quarter. "It's unfortunate, in our biggest game of the year that the injury didn't hold up for him. "But we've got his back. That's what it's all about. Next-man up mentality." Haliburton was off to a hot start with a game-high nine points on three made 3-pointers. Oklahoma City led, 18-16 at the time of Haliburton's injury. Haliburton, 25, is Indiana's best player and has been the heart of the Pacers run through the playoffs into the Finals. He's averaged 17.7 points, nine assists, 5.6 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game throughout the postseason while shooting 46.1% from the field and 32.9% from 3-point distance. He's hit late shots to either win a game or force overtime in a Pacers win in each round of the playoffs. Advertisement Haliburton initially sustained a calf strain early in Game 5 and continued to play in the game. He was able play in Game 6 as he helped lead the Pacers to a blowout win with 14 points and five assists in 23 minutes to force Game 7. But the toll of the injury eventually caught up to him in the biggest of the NBA season and his basketball career.

USA Today

32 minutes ago

• USA Today

Tyrese Haliburton injury: Pacers star taken to locker room during NBA Finals Game 7

Indiana Pacers star guard Tyrese Haliburton went down with what looked to be a very significant injury during the first quarter of Game 7 of the NBA Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Haliburton showed a lot of emotion and frustration while he was down on the court with 5:02 left in the first quarter. He went down after catching a pass from Obi Toppin and attempting to make a move with the ball past Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The Pacers called timeout and Haliburton was helped to the locker room. The Pacers star suffered a right calf injury in Game 5 and was questionable for Game 6 but managed to play in the game. He was deemed healthy enough to play in Game 7.