Shai Gilgeous-Alexander winning the MVP award is another team victory for the Thunder
OKLAHOMA CITY — It wasn't a shock to see Shai Gilgeous-Alexander win his first Most Valuable Player award, and usually these things follow a script of sorts.
There were tears — referencing his wife.
There was the praise for his teammates, who sat with him on the stage as he talked about his road.
And there was also the bling, but that was a bit different. It wasn't his own, but that of his teammates, who were sporting new Rolexes as a gift from Gilgeous-Alexander for winning the MVP trophy.
Usually you see this in other sports, when a running back reaches 2,000 yards or a quarterback wins MVP, they gift their offensive lineman something as a token of thanks. It happens in basketball, too, but this took a little more gumption from Gilgeous-Alexander.
The conversations began in earnest last season on the team bus, what he would do if he actually won the award.
'I don't know what brought it up, but watches was in the conversation,' he said. 'And a lot of guys on the team like watches, who doesn't like watches. And then I said yes, which was also silly on my part, but I said yes.
'And then as I got closer to achieving the goal, I was like, 'Wait a second. I actually have to do what I said I was going to do.''
The MVP announcement was made an hour before the press conference, but clearly Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder had a feeling the two-man race would actually be quite definitive.
And it was.
Gilgeous-Alexander, Denver's Nikola Jokić and Milwaukee's Giannis Antetokounmpo were the three finalists announced by the NBA, but most agreed the stiffest competition would come between the two Western Conference finalists — who happened to go head-to-head in the last round of the playoffs.
It was almost a clean reversal from last season in terms of how 1-2 laid out. Gilgeous-Alexander received 71 of the 100 first-place votes while Jokić received the other 29. Last year, Jokić earned 79 first-place votes while Gilgeous-Alexander took 15 of them.
The team success of the Thunder was as much a deciding factor as much as Gilgeous-Alexander's individual play. The Thunder finished a whopping 18 games ahead of Denver in the standings, thus negating Jokić's bid for a fourth MVP award — Jokić averaged 29.6 points, 12.7 rebounds and 10.2 assists to Gilgeous-Alexander's 32.7 points (league leader), 6.4 assists and 5 rebounds.
It makes seven straight years a non-American has won the award, and Gilgeous-Alexander will be presented the Michael Jordan trophy before Game 2 of the Western Conference finals Thursday night at Paycom Center.
He's been a premier player for years, but his profile has increased as the Thunder have improved after a couple of rocky years following his 2019 trade from the Los Angeles Clippers.
He finished fifth in 2022-23 voting, as it was clear the Thunder were coming. That was when he initially began believing he could play at an MVP level.
'I always thought that I could be a really good player, because I had seen what just putting your head down and working and controlling what you control can do for you,' Gilgeous-Alexander said. 'I never thought this was going to happen. I dreamt about as a kid, but as a kid, it's a fake dream.
'But as the days go on and you realize that, you get closer to your dream, it's hard to not freak out. It's hard to not be a six-year-old kid again, and I think that's what's allowed me to achieve it.'
He's the third Thunder player to win the award, following in the lineage of Kevin Durant (2014) and Russell Westbrook (2017). Another drafted Thunder player, James Harden, won the award in 2018, although he'd been traded to the Houston Rockets before the start of the 2012-13 season.
The franchise in a small period has shown an ability to draft special players, and when they were trading Paul George to the Clippers following the 2018-19 season, the rookie Gilgeous-Alexander was a sticking point as much as the treasure trove of draft picks the Thunder also received.
So he and the Thunder franchise and players have grown together.
'We prioritize the right things, and we prioritize winning,' Gilgeous-Alexander said. 'We prioritize getting better. We prioritize each other's success. ... We've just focused on those things every day. Every day it's becoming, how can we get better individually and as a group? Every day, it's a learning process.'
He reverts to a karate book that helped him through his own personal ups and downs.
'The message in the book was basically that success isn't linear, so it's never just like this,' Gilgeous-Alexander said, putting his hands up and down to signify the roller coaster. 'It's always up and down, and you get three to go up four, and you dip again to go up six, and before you look at it, you're up 10.'
That seems similar to how Oklahoma City has dominated its season, quietly taking down every team along the way, and on this day, both Gilgeous-Alexander and his teammates reaped some very shiny awards.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
32 minutes ago
- USA Today
NBA Finals Game 7 keys to victory: It all starts with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
The 2024-25 NBA season – through the promise of a fresh start in October to the dog days of late January to the late-season push for the postseason in late March, early April to the two-month playoffs schedule to determine a champion – comes down to one more game. Game 7 between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers in the NBA Finals on Sunday, June 22 (8 p.m. ET, ABC). Forty-eight minutes – possibly more – between two talented, deep, well-coached and exhausted teams. "One game for everything you ever dreamed of," Thunder star and this season's MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said. "If you win it, you get everything. If you lose it, you get nothing. It's that simple." Simple in theory. Difficult in practice. Because winning a championship isn't easy. It shouldn't be. One more game. The 20th Game 7 in NBA Finals history. Pacers-Thunder. Indiana has never won an NBA title; since relocating to Oklahoma City from Seattle in 2008, the Thunder have never won a title. "Just really focused on Game 7 and trying to take it just a moment at a time," Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton said. "Really enjoying what we're doing. Understanding this is going to be one of the biggest, if not the biggest, game most of us ever play in in our lives, and for our organization from a historical standpoint, as well. That's something that you don't take for granted and you enjoy as a competitor." Here's how each team can win Game 7: How Thunder can win NBA Finals Game 7 The MVP needs to play like the MVP, and he can't have more turnovers than made shots as he did in Indiana's Game 6 victory. Making mid-range shots, getting to the rim and free throw line, knocking down the occasional 3-pointers and making sure his teammates are involved. The Thunder are at their best when Gilgeous-Alexander scores around 30 points, five assists, two steals and attempts 10 free throws and has no more than three turnovers. In Indiana's Game 3 victory, the Thunder committed 19 turnovers, and in Indiana's Game 6 victory, the Thunder turned the ball over 21 times. It's one thing if shots are falling, it's another to have that many possessions with a field goal attempt. The Thunder don't need 40 points from Williams like they got from him in Game 5. However, an efficient Jalen Williams who is attacking the basket off the dribble and in transition and scoring 20-plus points while rebounding and collecting assists gives the Thunder a much better chance of winning. It's clear Holmgren needs to be involved offensively. He had just six points in the Game 1 loss and four points in the Game 6 loss and was 4-for-18 from the field in those two games. He's averaging 12.7 points and 10.7 rebounds in Finals victories and 10 points and 7.3 rebounds in Finals losses. The Thunder have used depth to their advantage all season. Getting 3s from Cason Wallace, Alex Caruso and Aaron Wiggins is important. Caruso has scored just two points in the past two games and was scoreless in Game 6. Wallace, Caruso and Wiggins were 1-for-6 on 3s in Game 6 and 7-for-14 in Game 5 and 14-for-26 in Game 2. The Thunder are not immune to home losses – they lost Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals to Denver and Game 1 of the NBA Finals to Indiana at home. However, they were 35-6 at home during the regular season and 10-2 during the playoffs. Oklahoma City provides one of the best home crowds in the league, and the Thunder can use that energy. LeBron James often said home-court advantage doesn't mean anything until a Game 7. How the Pacers can win Game 7 Haliburton has a strained calf, and if this were the regular season and even earlier in the playoffs, he might not be playing. But in Game 6 and Game 7 of the Finals, he is. He only played 23 minutes in the Pacers' Game 6 blowout victory and had 14 points, five assists and two steals. That kind of per-minute production should keep the Pacers in the game with a chance to win. The Pacers' improved defense is a major reason they are in this position. They like to pressure the basketball, sometimes full court, and that kind of intensity for four quarters wears down an opponent. Indiana wants to force turnovers, limit Oklahoma City's offensive opportunities and keep Gilgeous-Alexander from dominating with his scoring. In Game 6, the Pacers held the Thunder to 91 points, which is the Thunder's lowest-scoring game of the playoffs and just the second time they didn't reach 100 this postseason. The Pacers have been the best 3-point shooting team percentage-wise in the playoffs (.390) and have made 36.4% against the Thunder in the Finals. In their three Finals victories, they have outscored the Thunder 126-87 on 3-pointers. Aaron Nesmith, Andrew Nembhard, Pascal Siakam, Myles Turner, Obi Toppin and Haliburton need to combine for about 15 3-pointers. The Pacers average 14 made 3s in their Finals victories and 12 in their Finals losses. When T.J. McConnell, Bennedict Mathurin and Toppin are providing quality minutes, the Pacers are tough to beat. McConnell's bulldog mentality is an important part of Indiana's success. Siakam is the only Pacers player with championship experience (Toronto Raptors, 2019), and he has been a fantastic two-player in this series. If the Pacers win the title, he just might be Finals MVP. He's averaging 19.8 points, 8.3 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.3 blocks and shooting 46.4% from the field and 82.5% on free throws. Carlisle has extracted the maximum from this roster. Can he yield another victory? He has a great coaching staff, and Carlisle and his assistants have assembled outstanding game plans for this series. He has found ways to get points against Oklahoma City's top-rated defense and slow down the Thunder's No. 3 offense. It's no secret he's one of the league's best coaches over the past two decades, and he has been at the top of his game during the past two seasons with Indiana.
Boston Globe
an hour ago
- Boston Globe
US men's soccer coach Mauricio Pochettino ‘jealous' his team didn't get invitation to White House
'It was all a surprise to me, honestly — they told us that we have to go and I had no choice but to go,' Weah was quoted as saying after a 5-0 victory over Al-Ain that night in the Club World Cup. 'I was caught by surprise, honestly. It was a bit weird. When he started talking about the politics with Iran and everything, it's kind of like, I just want to play football, man.' Seated aside Pochettino, American defender Chris Richards was asked what he felt like having to answer questions about international events. Advertisement 'I think what makes America beautiful is we can all have different opinions, but kind of strive for the same thing, which is freedom in the prosperity,' Richards said. 'In this tough political time, there's a lot of stuff going on in the Middle East and things like that, but I think one thing that we can do is kind of give hope to people. That's all we can do at this point, and we're not politicians for a reason.' Wright (Achilles') done at Gold Cup US forward Haji Wright will miss the rest of the CONCACAF Gold Cup because of an injured left Achilles'. Advertisement A 27-year-old from Los Angeles, Wright scored in the 84th minute of last weekend's opening 5-0 win over Trinidad and Tobago, 11 minutes after entering. He did not play in Thursday's 1-0 victory over Saudi Arabia and the US Soccer Federation said Saturday he will return to Coventry City for evaluation and treatment. Pochettino said Wright arrived from the League Championship season with the Achilles' problem. Wright cannot be replaced on the tournament roster. The US, which already has clinched a quarterfinals berth, plays Haiti on Sunday in the Americans' group stage finale. 'The problem increased the pain,' Pochettino said. It's unclear whether midfielders Tyler Adams and Johnny Cardoso will he healthy enough to start Sunday. Adams (turf toe) and entered in 62nd minute against Saudi Arabia and Cardoso (illness) entered in the 89th.
NBC Sports
an hour ago
- NBC Sports
Stars re-sign Mavrik Bourque and Nils Lundkvist, young players still searching for roles
FRISCO, Texas — The Dallas Stars have re-signed two young players still searching for roles, with forward Mavrik Bourque and defenseman Nils Lundkvist agreeing to one-year contracts. Bourque played in 73 regular-season games in 2024-25, but dressed for just three playoff games as the Stars lost in the Western Conference final for the third consecutive year. Edmonton beat Dallas in five games after winning in six last year. The 23-year-old Bourque signed for $950,000, the Stars said Friday. He tallied 25 points (11 goals) last season. Bourque was the 30th overall pick in the first round by Dallas in 2020. Bourque made his NHL debut on April 6, 2024, the only game he played in 2023-24. He also made one playoff appearance that season. Lundkvist has been a disappointment since the Stars traded a first-round pick for him before the 2022-23 season. He was drafted in the first round by the New York Rangers in 2018. Injuries limited the 24-year-old to 39 games in the regular season, and Lundkvist didn't appear in the postseason after playing sparingly in most of his 12 playoff appearances in 2024. His second consecutive one-year contract is for $1.25 million. Lundkvist has 44 points (nine goals) in 183 games over four seasons.
