Oklahoma City Thunder guard and former Kentucky star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander appears to be closing in on his second straight MVP.
Gilgeous-Alexander has been leading in the betting odds for months, but a late charge from San Antonio Spurs phenom Victor Wembanyama has tightened the race.
However, Gilgeous-Alexander has picked up some separation. On Friday morning, ESPN’s Tim Bontemps published his influential MVP straw poll, which asks 100 media members to log their top-5 picks for the award.
Gilgeous-Alexander earned 88 of the 100 first-place votes, with Wembanyama nabbing just 8. Wembanyama (63) also split second-place votes with Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic (20).
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Over on Kalshi, Gilgeous-Alexander is nearing a 90% chance to take home his second straight MVP. With about 10 days remaining in the regular season, here’s a look at the market:
If Gilgeous-Alexander does capture the MVP, he’ll be just the 14th player ever to win the award in back-to-back seasons. He’s already the first ex-Kentucky player to ever win the NBA’s top individual prize.
Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 31.6 points per game on 55% shooting from the floor this season.
Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.
