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Shai Gilgeous-Alexander officially receives NBA MVP Award for 2024-25 season
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was named MVP of the 2024-25 NBA season on Wednesday. On Thursday, the Oklahoma City Thunder star and former Kentucky standout officially received his award from league commisioner Adam Silver ahead of Game 2 of the Thunder’s Western Conference Finals series against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Gilgeous-Alexander received a hearty ovation from the fans at Paycom Center as he held up the MVP trophy. Here’s video:
Considering the talent that has come out of Kentucky, it’s hard to believe that Gilgeous-Alexander is the first player from the program to win MVP. But he set himself apart with an outstanding season, one year after coming in 2nd in MVP voting.
In 76 regular season games, Gilgeous-Alexander averaged a league-best 32.7 points, adding 6.4 assists and 5.0 rebounds per game. Thanks in part to his efforts, the Thunder are in the West finals as they seek their first conference title since 2012 and their fifth overall, dating back to their days as the Seattle Super Sonics.
They’re off to a good start in the series as they routed the T-Wolves 114-88 on Tuesday. Gilgeous-Alexander posted 31 points, 5 rebounds, and 9 assists in that one.
Games 3 and 4 are in Minneapolis on Saturday and Monday. Game 5, if necessary, is back in OKC on Wednesday.
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
