Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been named the NBA’s Most Valuable Player for the second consecutive season after another outstanding campaign with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The 27-year-old claimed the award after leading the defending champions to a second straight season with the NBA’s best regular-season record.
Gilgeous-Alexander becomes just the fifth active player to win consecutive MVP awards and joins an elite group of modern stars including Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Stephen Curry, Tim Duncan, Michael Jordan and LeBron James as players to win multiple MVPs before turning 28.
“It’s special,” Gilgeous-Alexander said after receiving the award.
“All those guys have shaped the game of basketball. All those guys have changed the game and how it’s played and how it was approached before that. To be in just that circle, to be in that conversation, it’s something that I don’t take lightly. I’m super grateful for it.”
Dominant win in the scoring charts
Gilgeous-Alexander comfortably topped the voting ahead of Jokic and Victor Wembanyama.
The Thunder star received 83 of the 100 first-place votes from the global media panel, while Jokic finished second and Wembanyama came third. Luka Doncic and Cade Cunningham rounded out the top five.
Jokic’s runner-up finish marked the sixth straight year the Denver Nuggets star has placed in the top two of MVP voting, matching a feat previously achieved only by Larry Bird and Bill Russell.
Another Historic Season for SGA
Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 31.1 points per game while shooting a career-best 55.3% from the field. He also recorded a career-high 6.6 assists per game as Oklahoma City finished 64-18.
The reigning Finals MVP also won the NBA Clutch Player of the Year award after leading the league in clutch scoring with 175 points in games within five points during the final five minutes.
He also led the NBA in go-ahead clutch field goals and clutch plus-minus, further underlining his influence in key moments throughout the season.
Over the last four seasons, Gilgeous-Alexander has consistently featured among the league’s elite players. He finished fifth in MVP voting in 2023, second in 2024, before securing consecutive awards in 2025 and 2026.
During that span, he also became the first player since Jordan to average at least 30 points across four straight seasons.
Thunder Focus Turns to Spurs Series
Despite the celebrations, attention quickly shifted to Oklahoma City’s upcoming playoff series against the San Antonio Spurs and Wembanyama.
“Obviously, a really good team,” Gilgeous-Alexander said of San Antonio.
“They’ve been right behind us all year, so we obviously don’t take them in the slightest. They’re a really good team.”
Gilgeous-Alexander was joined by his Thunder team-mates during the announcement at the team’s practice facility, mirroring last year’s celebrations after his first MVP triumph.
Players arrived wearing Burberry trench coats gifted to them by the MVP winner as part of a celebratory package. Gilgeous-Alexander joked that every coat fit perfectly except for Holmgren’s due to the center’s towering 7-foot-1 frame.
“Some of it is just luck,” he said.
“As an NBA player, you have no control over other grown men in this business, and I’m just lucky enough to be surrounded by great human beings, from the front office, coaching staff, to the guys that I play on the court with every night.
“It’s more than me, it’s bigger than me.”
