The Oklahoma City Thunder are in a fight with the Denver Nuggets and the Minnesota Timberwolves for the 1-seed in the Western Conference, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the biggest reason why. Long viewed as one of the most exciting young talents in the NBA, Gilgeous-Alexander has been nothing short of magnificent this year, as the two-time All-Star guard has been crucial for the 49-21 Thunder.
It’s led to Gilgeous-Alexander getting some MVP love, although the overwhelming belief is that Nikola Jokic will take the award home for the third time in his career. Apparently, Shaquille O’Neal agrees with this, as he believes the young Thunder star should be running away with the award this year.
“The MVP is SGA. Period. … He’s the baddest player in the game and their team is 49-21.”@SHAQ has his pick for MVP
pic.twitter.com/nPbCZGouob
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) March 26, 2024
“The MVP is SGA, period,” Shaq said. “I saw something today, he’s one of the few guys that have 50 30-point games in a season. And he meets my criteria and everybody else’s. He’s the baddest player in the game, and their team is 49-21, and Denver is 51-21. So, you can’t give it to the Joker.”
After getting asked by Candace Parker if this comes from a place of expecting Jokic to put up the kinds of numbers that he has this year, Shaq made clear it does not.
“Nobody’s doing more than SGA,” he said.
On the year, Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 30.5 points, 5.3 assists, 5.6 rebounds, and 2.1 steals in 34.4 minutes per game.