Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is chasing a piece of NBA history he insists is not driving his season. The Oklahoma City Thunder guard enters the year with consecutive MVP trophies already on his shelf, and a third would place him beside Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain and Larry Bird as the only players to claim the award in three straight seasons.
A narrow path to a third MVP
No player has put together a three-year MVP streak in four decades. The absence of Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar from that club underlines just how rare the accomplishment is.
Gilgeous-Alexander has been the league’s most consistent high-volume scorer over the past two seasons, averaging 32 points per game while receiving more than 75% of available first-place MVP votes in that span. Oklahoma City, alongside the San Antonio Spurs, is viewed as a leading championship contender, putting its best player right back in the center of the award conversation.
But Gilgeous-Alexander’s approach has not changed.
“My job is to be the best player possible for this team and help us win as many games as we can,” he said. “That approach has worked for me before, and I’ve been fortunate enough to win two straight. It’s the same mindset going into this year.”
- Russell, Chamberlain and Bird are the only three-time consecutive MVP winners.
- Gilgeous-Alexander has won the past two MVP awards.
- His 32-point average leads the NBA across those two seasons.
- The Thunder’s team success will remain central to his case for a third award.
Thunder see room for another jump
The back-to-back MVP does not believe he has reached his ceiling. He said he has become a more complete player, feels more versatile on the floor and arrives in better condition than before.
Thunder general manager Sam Presti has worked around Hall of Fame talent and sees the foundation that separates Gilgeous-Alexander from most elite players. In a preseason news conference last month, Presti pointed to a combination of work habits, discipline and character, then went further by highlighting the guard’s emotional command.
“He has the core qualities you need to perform at an elite level consistently, in this league or anywhere,” Presti said. “But his emotional awareness and ability to regulate himself are exceptional. He sees things in layers. He doesn’t treat everything as pass or fail, and that has helped take him from a lightly recruited college player to where he is now.”
Gilgeous-Alexander was selected 11th overall in the draft, another reminder that MVP trajectories are rarely obvious on draft night. Presti believes there is still more development ahead.
“He is still moving forward,” Presti said. “There are many more levels available to him, and his mentality is what fuels that.”
An international MVP era continues
The MVP award has gone to an international player in each of the last eight seasons. League general managers expect that streak to reach nine, with San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama their preseason choice to win the trophy next spring.
Gilgeous-Alexander is part of a generation that has reshaped the league’s power structure, with several of its defining MVPs arriving without the expectations attached to the top of the draft.
- Joel Embiid, the 2014 No. 3 overall pick, won MVP in 2022-23.
- Giannis Antetokounmpo, now with Miami, was selected No. 15 in 2013 and has earned two MVP awards during the current international-player run.
- Denver’s Nikola Jokic was taken 41st overall and is a three-time MVP.
- Gilgeous-Alexander, drafted 11th, is already a two-time winner.
Leadership matters more than the hardware
Gilgeous-Alexander understands that winning at the team level usually creates the conditions for individual recognition. He has also made a point of sharing the rewards, giving teammates expensive thank-you presents following his first two MVP seasons, including luxury watches, Burberry coats and other gifts.
Still, he places more value on the daily responsibility of leading Oklahoma City than on collecting another trophy. Fatherhood, he said, has sharpened his understanding of what it means to set an example.
“I’ve worked at it deliberately, but it has also grown naturally as I’ve grown up,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “Being a father has helped. You are setting an example for someone every day. It is different in real life, but it is basically the same principle: lead by example. It is difficult to ask people to follow if you are not doing the right things yourself.”
For the Thunder, that is the larger assignment. A third MVP would carry historic weight, but Gilgeous-Alexander’s focus remains on the standings, the postseason and the championship standard Oklahoma City now carries into every tip-off.
