Shai Gilgeous-Alexander becomes 14th player in NBA history to win back-to-back MVPs

For the second straight year, Canadian basketball star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of Toronto, Ontario is the NBA MVP. It was an outstanding season for the Oklahoma City Thunder point guard as he led the league with 616 two-point field goals made and 540 free throws made.

Gilgeous-Alexander becomes the 14th player in NBA history to win NBA MVP two straight years. The list that Gilgeous-Alexander joins is extraordinary. It includes Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Moses Malone, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Tim Duncan, Steve Nash, LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Nikola Jokic.  It should be noted that the last three players to accomplish the feat have done it this decade and are not American. Antetokounmpo is from Greece and Jokic is from Serbia.

The focus for Gilgeous-Alexander at this time is to lead the Thunder to their second straight NBA Finals title. To get to the finals will be a mighty challenge. OKC will have to face a San Antonio Spurs team that gave them fits in the regular season. The Spurs are led by NBA Defensive Player of the Year Victor Wembanyama. San Antonio beat Oklahoma City four times in five games this year.

However a major reason why Gilgeous-Alexander won the NBA MVP is because the Thunder were the best team in the league. Oklahoma City’s regular season record was 64 wins and 18 losses for a winning percentage of .780.  The Thunder are also unbeaten in the postseason to date, however it is high unlikely, that they will sweep the Spurs.