Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has won his maiden NBA MVP after a stunning season leading the OKC Thunder to the Western Conference Finals.
The MVP race came down to the wire between Alexander and conference rival Nikola Jokic, who was sent home in the second round of the playoffs. The two were the only true contenders with a real shot at winning the award, and in the end, the Thunder guard managed to edge out the three-time NBA MVP.
Once the news broke that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had been named the MVP, his wife Hailey Summers posted a teary-eyed emotional reaction that perfectly sums up this moment:
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Hailey Summers/IG
Shai’s win means the MVP has been won by an international player in each of the past seven years. He is also the third player in OKC’s history to earn an MVP, after Kevin Durant in 2014 and Russell Westbrook in 2017.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 32.7 points on 51.9% shooting with 6.4 assists, 5.0 rebounds, 1.7 steals and 1.0 blocks. Only Michael Jordan has matched those stats in a season during his 1988 and 1991 MVP years.
Mervin is an NBA Assistant Content Manager at Sportskeeda with over 5 years of experience. He honed his writing skills while pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in English literature and a Master’s degree in Online Journalism, and decided to exercise his skills in the realm of sports journalism. He is also a state level hockey player.
Mervin feels basketball requires a unique blend of physicality, skill, team work, which makes it more exciting than other sports. He believes the Golden State Warriors have had a transformative influence on the sport’s culture, and Steph Curry embodies that change the most. Curry has been the most impactful player during Mervin’s time watching NBA, as he changed how everybody views the 3-point shot. The Warriors winning the NBA Championship in 2015 and 2017 are his all-time favorite moments in the sport’s history.
Mervin specializes in providing off-beat game analysis, trends, celebrity style and studying profiles of prodigious talents. He strictly follows the rule of 5W and 1H, checks information via multiple sources, and stays updated about the sport to craft compelling content. He has interviewed many Indian athletes like Neeraj Chopra, Sreeshankar Murali, Dipika Pallikal among others.
In his free time, Mervin enjoys watching movies, hiking, crafting poems and occasionally cooking.
