Shai Gilgeous-Alexander dominates award predictions, eyeing MVP and Clutch Player. Plus, who else is poised for All-NBA and All-Defensive honors?
Oklahoma City has secured the one seed in the West for the third consecutive season despite dealing with a slew of injuries. It’s a testament to the Thunder’s star power, depth and culture that the team persevered through a seemingly endless revolving door of injuries. The players truly embodied the “next man up” mentality.
Given the franchise’s success, there should be plenty of awards and accolades heading to Oklahoma City.
MVP: Nikola Jokić, Victor Wembanyama and Luka Dončić all had MVP-caliber seasons, but Gilgeous-Alexander is heavily favored to claim the award. His consistency as a scorer kept Oklahoma City’s offense afloat during ugly shooting slumps. In fact, Gilgeous-Alexander was so reliable that he broke Wilt Chamberlain’s regular season record for the most consecutive games with at least 20 points in NBA history.
Gilgeous-Alexander’s superpower is the ability to maximize every possession and leave nothing to waste. He recorded the second-highest true shooting percentage and the second-fewest turnovers per game of any individual season in which a player averaged at least 30 points per game. Oklahoma City dominates the margins mainly because of Gilgeous-Alexander.
Factor in his quality defense (especially as a help defender around the basket), and there are no holes in Gilgeous-Alexander’s game or MVP case. He should comfortably join Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Steve Nash and Stephen Curry as the only guards in league history to win back-to-back MVPs.
Clutch Player of the Year: Gilgeous-Alexander is also heavily favored to win Clutch Player of the Year. He led the league in total clutch points and total clutch plus-minus. The superstar had too many big shots and game-winners to count, such as a pair of triples against Jokić’s Nuggets that iced the contest.
All-NBA: Gilgeous-Alexander is a lock to make the First Team, and Chet Holmgren has a chance to be on the Third Team. Holmgren is arguably the second-best defender in the NBA and also contributes 17.1 points per game on 65.3% true shooting. He’s simply a winning player who anchors one of the best defenses in league history. It also helps that numerous players with very strong All-NBA cases are ineligible because of the 65-game rule. The list includes Cade Cunningham, Anthony Edwards, Devin Booker and potentially Dončić.
All-Defensive: Although Holmgren may barely miss out on an All-NBA selection, he has an iron-clad case to make the All-Defensive First Team. Cason Wallace also owns a strong chance to be on the All-Defensive Second Team. The Kentucky product leads the NBA in total steals and is one of the best perimeter defenders across the association.
Overall, look for the Thunder to claim MVP and Clutch Player of the Year while probably having two players make All-NBA and All-Defensive Teams.