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The Oklahoma City Thunder are the favorites to win the NBA title, and their superstar player is a reason why.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander won his first NBA MVP prize on Wednesday.
The Canadian star and the top scorer of the league registered maximums of her career with 32.7 points and 6.4 assists per game, taking the thunder to seed number 1 in the West with a record of 68-14 best in the NBA.
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Oklahoma City Thunder, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, observes a shot against the Minnesota Timberwolves Donte Divincenzo (0) guard in the fourth quarter during game 1 of the finals of the West Conference of 2025 at the PayCom Center. (Alonzo Adams/Imagn images)
Gilgeous-Alexander ended second last year to Nikola Jokić. The Thunder defeated Jokić’s Denver Nuggets in seven games in the second round.
Gilgeous-Alexander was the eleventh general selection of the Charlotte Hornets in 2018, but quickly changed to the Los Angeles clippers. However, only a year passed there, and it was part of a package that sent Paul George to Los Angeles.
Since the exchange, Gilgeous-Alexander has been a raw diamond, and will soon be named the first team there a third consecutive year. He has also led the NBA in free throws made by game the last two seasons.
Oklahoma City Thunder Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) Shoots against Denver Nuggets in the second half during game 7 of the second round of the NBA playoffs of 2025 at the PayCom center in Oklahoma City on May 18, 2025. (Alonzo Adams/Imagn images)
Oklahoma City began the final of the West Conference with a 114-88 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves, which fell in the same round against the Dallas Mavericks last year. Okc lost for four points in the middle, but surpassed Minnesota 70-40 in the second half.
This is the most remote OKC in the playoffs since 2016, when the Thunder exploded a 3-1 advantage to the 73-9 Golden State Warriors in the conference finals. The Warriors then did the same with LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Gilgous-Alexander defeated Jokić, who was looking for a MVP room in five years. No one has won four MVP in a period of five years since James did it from 2009 to 2013.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) of the Oklahoma City Thunder celebrates during game 7 of the second round of the NBA playoffs of 2025 against Denver’s Nuggets on May 18, 2025 at the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City. (Zach Beeker/NBAE through Getty Images)
Jokić averaged 29.6 points, 12.7 rebounds and 10.2 assists per game, the first time he averaged a triple-double in a season. And he became the third player to do so, joining Oscar Robertson and his teammate Russell Westbrook, who has done it four times.
Oklahoma City, previously known as Seattle Supersonics, is still looking for his first NBA title since he moved (Seattle won the NBA title in 1979). The Thunder arrived for the last time to the NBA finals in 2012, when they lost to James and the Miami Heat.
