Why Shai Gilgeous-Alexander won NBA MVP

Jesse Campigotto · CBC Sports

· Posted: May 22, 2025 5:14 PM EDT | Last Updated: 3 hours ago

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Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was named the NBA's Most Valuable Player past night, becoming conscionable the 2nd Canadian ever to triumph basketball's astir prestigious idiosyncratic grant and the archetypal since Steve Nash went back-to-back successful 2005 and '06.

This wasn't a surprise. After finishing 2nd successful MVP voting past twelvemonth to Denver's Nikola Jokic, the 26-year-old, 6-foot-6 defender from Hamilton, Ont., emerged arsenic the wide favourite months agone and finished the regular play with an ironclad (and elegantly simple) case: helium led the league successful scoring and powered his team, the Oklahoma City Thunder, to the champion grounds successful the full league.

Digging a small deeper into Gilgeous-Alexander's fantastic season, his 32.7 points per crippled enactment him good up of scoring-race runner-up Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks (30.4) and the third-place Jokic (29.6). In summation to becoming the archetypal Canadian to pb the NBA successful scoring, SGA averaged a career-high 6.4 assists on with 5 rebounds and 1.7 steals, which tied for fourth-most successful the league and helped OKC to the No. 1 defensive rating along with the fourth-best violative rating.

In a league wherever fans perpetually kick astir load absorption and stars not taking the regular play earnestly enough, Gilgeous-Alexander was astir arsenic adjacent to an Ironman arsenic you'll get these days, playing 76 of the Thunder's 82 games. Among the apical 15 scorers, lone Minnesota's Anthony Edwards (79) suited up much often.

WATCH | Shai Gilgeous-Alexander becomes 2nd Canadian to triumph NBA MVP:

And SGA brought it each night. He scored astatine slightest 20 points successful each but 1 of his games, including his past 72 successful a row, giving him the NBA's longest single-season 20-point streak successful much than 60 years. He besides led the league successful games with astatine slightest 30 points (49), 40 points (13) and 50 points (four), topping retired astatine 54 successful a January triumph implicit Utah.

Oh, and he's no chucker. Gilgeous-Alexander is conscionable the 2nd subordinate successful NBA past to mean astatine slightest 32 points and six assists portion shooting astatine slightest 50 per cent from the tract successful a season. The different is Michael Jordan.

And yet, the voting for the MVP trophy that's present named aft His Airness was person than you mightiness think, fixed Gilgeous-Alexander's stellar resumé. He received 71 of the 100 first-place votes, with the different 29 each going to Jokic, the MVP victor successful 3 of the 4 erstwhile years. Antetokounmpo, a back-to-back MVP successful 2019 and '20, came successful third.

Jokic's Nuggets finished 4th successful the Western Conference, 18 games down the Thunder, which did a batch of harm to his MVP case. But the 6-foot-11 Serbian centre's numbers were arguably much awesome than SGA's. He averaged a triple treble with 29.6 points, 12.7 points and — astir incredibly, fixed his size and the presumption helium plays — 10.2 assists.

WATCH | Shai's dad connected however his NBA imagination began, rivalry with relative Nickeil:

To galore fans, Jokic is besides the much aesthetically pleasing player. This 284-pound elephantine is someway the NBA's champion (and astir entertaining) passer, dishing out highlight-reel assists with stunning regularity. Meanwhile, immoderate impeach Gilgeous-Alexander of being a "free-throw merchant" who excels successful the acheronian creation of drafting fouls, inflating his scoring numbers a la the polarizing James Harden successful his prime.

Fair enough, arsenic Gilgeous-Alexander sank an NBA-high 7.9 escaped throws per crippled this season — 1.4 much than Antetokounmpo and Atlanta's Trae Young, who tied for second. But Giannis drew acold much attempts (10.6 to SGA's 8.8) and doesn't look to look the aforesaid level of criticism.

True, Gilgeous-Alexander does thin to "sell" his opponents' fouls a lot, and immoderate of his embellishments tin look beauteous silly from the close space successful slow-motion replay. But the referees often autumn for them successful existent time, truthful tin you truly blasted him for exploiting that edge? Doing immoderate it takes to win — whether that's scoring, D'ing up or, yes, moving the refs — is the calling paper of a existent MVP.

More trophies?

Gilgeous-Alexander won the Northern Star Award arsenic Canada's jock of the twelvemonth successful 2023 aft placing 5th successful NBA MVP voting and starring the men's nationalist squad to an historical bronze medal astatine the Basketball World Cup, wherever the Canadian men besides clinched their archetypal Olympic berth since Nash dragged his squad to the quarterfinals successful 2000. 

SGA was a apical Northern Star campaigner again past twelvemonth aft moving up to 2nd successful the MVP vote, starring OKC to the champion grounds successful the Western Conference and placing 2nd successful scoring astatine the Paris Olympics with 21 points per game. But Canada got bounced successful the quarterfinals by big France (despite SGA's 27 points) portion Summer McIntosh won 3 golden medals and a silver, making the swimming sensation the evident choice.

The Northern Star voters mightiness person different slam dunk connected their hands this December, particularly if Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder hoist the Larry O'Brien Trophy arsenic NBA champions adjacent month, which would astir surely mean a Finals MVP for him arsenic well. Oklahoma City is heavy favoured to bushed Minnesota successful the Western Conference last aft blowing retired the Timberwolves 114-88 successful the bid opener connected Tuesday, with 31 points and 9 assists (both crippled highs) by SGA. Game 2 is contiguous astatine 8:30 p.m. ET.

Maple-infused Finals?

There's a decent accidental that the upcoming Finals volition diagnostic 3 Canadian starters, a Canadian sixth antheral and a prima with a beardown transportation to Canada.

Joining Gilgeous-Alexander successful the Thunder starting 5 is Montreal's Lu Dort, a rugged defender who averaged lone 10 points this play but is 1 of the premier perimeter defenders successful the NBA. If they get past the Timberwolves, who include SGA's cousin Nickeil Alexander-Walker successful their rotation, the Thunder could look the Indiana Pacers, who person Canada's Andrew Nembhard starting astatine defender and Bennedict Mathurin arsenic the archetypal antheral disconnected the bench.

Nembhard scored 15 points and Mathurin chipped successful 9 past nighttime arsenic Indy rallied from down 14 with little than 3 minutes near successful regularisation to stun the New York Knicks 138-135 successful overtime successful Game 1 of the Eastern last astatine Madison Square Garden. Nembhard has upped his averages to 14.6 points and 5.8 assists successful the playoffs, portion Mathurin is scoring adjacent to 11 a crippled aft averaging 16 successful the regular season. 

The Pacers' starring scorer and rebounder this play was Pascal Siakam, who helped the Toronto Raptors to their improbable NBA title successful 2019. So, portion a small-market Finals matchup of Oklahoma City vs. Indiana mightiness not thrill the suits astatine the league bureau oregon the TV networks, it could beryllium beauteous bully for fans up present successful Canada.