Gilgeous-Alexander repeats as NBA MVP and Wembanyama will have to wait
The Canadian, also a 2025 champion, once again led the Thunder to the best record in the NBA at the end of the regular season (64 wins and 18 losses), while putting up elite individual numbers, averaging 31.1 points and 6.6 assists per game.
Gilgeous-Alexander reference image.
The Canadian point guard for the Oklahoma City Thunder, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was named NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) for the second consecutive season, ahead of finalists Nikola Jokic and Victor Wembanyama, who will challenge the reigning MVP with the Spurs starting Monday in the Western Conference finals.
At 27 years old, Gilgeous-Alexander captured the award for the second straight season, matching fellow Canadian Steve Nash, who won back-to-back MVP honors in 2005 and 2006.
The Canadian, also a 2025 champion, once again led the Thunder to the NBA's best record at the end of the regular season (64 wins and 18 losses), backed by elite individual statistics (31.1 points and 6.6 assists on average).
Although he scored slightly fewer points than last season (32.7 per game), “SGA” posted his fourth consecutive season averaging more than 30 points and appears to be at the peak of his game, relying on an explosive style built around sudden bursts and stops followed by drives to the basket or precise midrange jumpers.
Gilgeous-Alexander commands with authority a Thunder that has become a relentless machine since the start of the playoffs: the defending champions swept the Phoenix Suns (4-0) and then the Los Angeles Lakers (4-0) to advance to the West finals.
The big challenge now is France's Wembanyama, who at 22 years and four months will not be the youngest MVP in history and will have to wait to become the first Frenchman to win the trophy.
The giant of 2.24 meters, of unprecedented skill and considered the engine of a revolution in world basketball, also slipped into the Top 3 of the vote of a panel of 100 members of the media, including the AFP, alongside Serbian Nikola Jokic.
SGA vs. Wemby showdown starting Monday
The NBA announcement, made on the eve of the start of the Western finals between Spurs and Thunder, adds extra excitement to a high-voltage crossover between two young, up-and-coming teams.
With two talented squads and next-generation coaches—Mark Daigneault (41) and Mitch Johnson (39)—the matchup promises to be electric.
The Thunder start as favorites, although the Spurs won four of the five meetings this season,including an NBA Cup semifinal in Las Vegas.
Gilgeous-Alexander to make series debut as a two-time MVP
Son of Hamilton, just outside Toronto, he inherits the physical qualities of his mother, Charmaine Gilgeous, a 400-meter runner at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics for Antigua and Barbuda, later a social worker.
Not among the big stars of his generation as a junior, he shared his NBA dreams with his cousin Nickeil Alexander-Walker, who this season won the Most Improved Player (MIP) award after joining the Atlanta Hawks.
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