Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is chasing a place in one of the NBA’s smallest clubs this season. If he wins another MVP, he would join Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain and Larry Bird as the only players to take three straight NBA Most Valuable Player awards.
That is why Thunder Score is drawing attention now: the season is underway, and Gilgeous-Alexander already has the profile of a favorite. He has collected more than 75% of the first-place MVP votes over the last two seasons, and his 32 points per game over that span leads the NBA. Nobody has won three consecutive MVP awards in 40 years, which is what makes this chase so rare.
Gilgeous-Alexander, who was drafted 11th overall, did not talk about trophies when he was asked about the season ahead. “I’ve just got to be the best player I can be for this basketball team, win as many games as possible,” he said. “That kind of recipe for me in the past has kind of worked, and I’ve been fortunate to win two in a row. No different for me going into this season.”
He also said he believes his game is still growing. “I feel like I’m a better basketball player, more versatile as a basketball player,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “In better shape, too.” That matters because the award race is not built on reputation alone; it is built on production, and he has already produced at a level that has separated him from the field for two straight years.
Sam Presti offered a broader explanation for why that has happened, saying great players have something that separates them from others and makes them uniquely different. He said Gilgeous-Alexander has the work ethic, discipline and character needed to be a consistent elite performer, along with emotional awareness and regulation that is superior. Presti also pointed to the forward climb of a player who has gone from a lightly recruited college prospect to the center of the league’s most important individual award conversation.
The backdrop only adds to the pressure. International players have won the last eight MVP awards, and if the league’s general managers are right, that run will reach nine this season, with Victor Wembanyama picked as the preseason favorite. Gilgeous-Alexander still has the most direct path to history, though, because his recent vote share and scoring output put him in the middle of the race again.
He says he is aiming at something bigger than an award. The question is whether that approach carries him to a third straight MVP anyway, or leaves the door open for someone else when the votes are counted next spring.
