At the age of 26, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is leading the renaissance era of the Oklahoma City Thunder – bringing the team to its first Western Conference Finals since 2016. Now, his efforts with the Thunder have been rewarded as he is now named the 2024-25 season MVP. If there was any doubt on him winning the award, that’s probably from the haters out there.

From leading OKC to a franchise-high 68 games, leading the scoring with 32.7 points per game, it was clear right from the start that SGA has been really dominant this season and has found a way to prove his worth on the big stage. A lot of people often criticize him for his finesse in drawing contact and has even been labelled as a foul merchant – despite both finalists Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nikola Jokic being more foul-magnets as well.

Over the years, we have seen how SGA has improved and jumped his stats from being a mere rookie to a playoff riser and now a premier face of the league now more than ever. Now that he’s the MVP, the fans can rest easy knowing that the best player in the league resides in Oklahoma after eight years.

A New Dawn in OKC

Kevin Durant was the first MVP for OKC when he won the award in 2014. Russell Westbrook followed suit in 2017, but nothing else was there after that. It was a long drought followed by stretches of non-success for the Thunder as they prepared for the rebuild that would actually pave the way for today’s OKC and the MVP rise of Gilgeous-Alexander.

SGA managed to beat out two multi-time winners in both Antetokounmpo and Jokic. In seven years, it has been a promising story for Shai, who led the league this season in 20-point, 30-point, 40-point, and 50-point games. Efficiency has been his brand, and it cannot be denied that he even deserved to win the MVP at a unanimous level.

"Thank you," SGA began, before immediately starting to cry as he spoke about his partner, Hailey Summers. "Sorry I'm so dramatic ... Thank you for everything you are for me, for our son Ares. You were the first person to show me what love really meant. What love really meant, what sacrifice really meant. And I can't wait to spend the rest of this journey called life with you. So thank you for everything."

Gilgeous-Alexander is also the first Kentucky product to be named league MVP – and also the seventh straight international player to win the award.

Lightning Then The Thunder

Shai was drafted by the Charlotte Hornets before later being traded to the Los Angeles Clippers. He spent his rookie year with LAC and went to the playoffs – even pushing the juggernaut Golden State Warriors to six games in the first round of the NBA Playoffs. However, he was later packed in a massive deal that led to OKC bringing him in – along with a hefty number of first-round picks.

This would eventually put SGA as the centerpiece of the Thunder, and it cannot be denied that there were a lot of expectations as to how he would be going for a massive improvement in his games. Indeed, he would emerge as a star, and he would spark the new future that OKC was trying to draw up at this point.

So far, the MVP has been named, and all that’s left for him is to bring OKC back to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2012 – and win their first title since moving to Oklahoma.