{"id":1940554,"date":"2026-05-17T23:42:58","date_gmt":"2026-05-17T20:42:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1940554"},"modified":"2026-05-17T23:42:58","modified_gmt":"2026-05-17T20:42:58","slug":"shai-gilgeous-alexander-wins-2nd-nba-mvp-beating-nikola-jokic-victor-wembanyama","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1940554","title":{"rendered":"Shai Gilgeous-Alexander wins 2nd NBA MVP, beating Nikola Joki\u0107, Victor Wembanyama"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"Article_ContentContainer__jBNW3 article-content-container bodytext1\">\n<p>The NBA\u2019s MVP, once again, resides in Oklahoma City.<\/p>\n<p>Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has won a second consecutive regular-season MVP award, the NBA announced Sunday. The 27-year-old beat fellow finalists Nikola Joki\u0107 of the Denver Nuggets and Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs. The now-two-time MVP finished with 83 first-place votes compared to 10 for Joki\u0107 and five for Wembanyama.<\/p>\n<div data-ath-video-stream=\"cgG07ngX8y9j4Xr\"><\/div>\n<p>Gilgeous-Alexander becomes the first back-to-back winner of the award since Joki\u0107 in 2021 and 2022. Among guards, SGA is the first to win consecutive MVPs since Stephen Curry in 2015 and 2016, and he joins Curry, Michael Jordan, Steve Nash and Magic Johnson as the only guards in NBA history to do so. SGA is also the 12th player with multiple MVP awards by age 28; the league has 16 multi-time winners.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ad-container\">\n<div class=\"ad-wrapper article-treatment\">\n<div class=\"ad-slug-container\">\n<p class=\"ad-slug\">Advertisement<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"mid1\" data-position=\"mid1\" class=\"ad place-ad\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>In 68 regular-season games played this season, Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 31.1 points, 6.6 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 1.4 steals while shooting 38.6 percent on 3s and 60.2 percent from 2-point range, the best mark of his career. He fueled Oklahoma City\u2019s third consecutive finish atop the Western Conference standings, as the Thunder had their third straight season of at least 57 wins. The Thunder were 56-12 when he played this season.<\/p>\n<div id=\"inline-graphic\">\n<p>        a.showcase-link-container {<br \/>\n  display: flex;<br \/>\n  gap: 20px;<br \/>\n  flex-direction: column;<br \/>\n  align-items: center;<br \/>\n  padding: 20px 0px;<br \/>\n  border-top: 1px solid rgba(150, 150, 147, 0.4);<br \/>\n  border-bottom: 1px solid rgba(150, 150, 147, 0.4);<br \/>\n  text-decoration: none;<br \/>\n  color: #121212;<br \/>\n  cursor: pointer;<\/p>\n<p>  .showcase-link {<br \/>\n    font-family: nyt-franklin;<br \/>\n    font-size: 14px;<br \/>\n    font-style: normal;<br \/>\n    font-weight: 700;<br \/>\n    line-height: 13.8px;<br \/>\n    letter-spacing: 1.1px;<br \/>\n    text-transform: uppercase;<br \/>\n  }<\/p>\n<p>  .showcase-link-image {<br \/>\n    border-radius: 8px;<br \/>\n    object-fit: cover;<br \/>\n    width: 200px;<br \/>\n    height: 150px;<br \/>\n    margin: 0px;<br \/>\n    @media (max-width: 600px) {<br \/>\n      width: 120px;<br \/>\n      height: 120px;<br \/>\n    }<br \/>\n  }<\/p>\n<p>  .showcase-link-inner-content {<br \/>\n    display: flex;<br \/>\n    flex-direction: row;<br \/>\n    gap: 16px;<br \/>\n    width: 100%;<br \/>\n  }<\/p>\n<p>  .showcase-link-text-content {<br \/>\n    display: flex;<br \/>\n    flex-direction: column;<br \/>\n    gap: 20px;<br \/>\n    justify-content: center;<br \/>\n    @media (max-width: 600px) {<br \/>\n      gap: 8px;<br \/>\n    }<br \/>\n  }<\/p>\n<p>  .showcase-link-title {<br \/>\n    font-family: nyt-cheltenham;<br \/>\n    font-size: 24px;<br \/>\n    font-style: normal;<br \/>\n    font-weight: 500;<br \/>\n    line-height: 120%; \/* 24px *\/<br \/>\n    letter-spacing: 0.01px;<br \/>\n    text-overflow: ellipsis;<br \/>\n    overflow: hidden;<br \/>\n    display: -webkit-box;<br \/>\n    -webkit-box-orient: vertical;<br \/>\n    -webkit-line-clamp: 3;<br \/>\n    @media (max-width: 600px) {<br \/>\n      font-size: 16px;<br \/>\n    }<br \/>\n  }<\/p>\n<p>  .showcase-link-excerpt {<br \/>\n    font-family: nyt-imperial;<br \/>\n    font-size: 16px;<br \/>\n    font-style: normal;<br \/>\n    font-weight: 400;<br \/>\n    line-height: 139%; \/* 19.46px *\/<br \/>\n    color: #323232;<br \/>\n    text-overflow: ellipsis;<br \/>\n    overflow: hidden;<br \/>\n    display: -webkit-box;<br \/>\n    -webkit-box-orient: vertical;<br \/>\n    -webkit-line-clamp: 4;<br \/>\n    @media (max-width: 600px) {<br \/>\n      font-size: 12px;<br \/>\n      line-height: 121%;<br \/>\n    }<br \/>\n  }<br \/>\n}<\/p>\n<p>.showcase-link-inputs {<br \/>\n  .showcase-link-input {<br \/>\n    width: 100%;<br \/>\n    font-size: 1rem;<br \/>\n    background-color: white;<br \/>\n    margin-bottom: 12px;<br \/>\n  }<\/p>\n<p>  .showcase-link-indent {<br \/>\n    margin-left: 25px;<br \/>\n  }<\/p>\n<p>  option {<br \/>\n    width: 100%;<br \/>\n  }<br \/>\n}<\/p>\n<p>@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {<br \/>\n  .native-mobile a.showcase-link-container {<br \/>\n    background-color: #121212;<br \/>\n    color: #f0f0ee;<br \/>\n    .showcase-link-excerpt {<br \/>\n      color: #c4c4c0;<br \/>\n    }<br \/>\n  }<br \/>\n}<\/p>\n<p>            \/\/ Remove all onclicks on imgs for apps to prevent image zoom on click<br \/>\n            document.querySelectorAll(&#8216;.showcase-link-image&#8217;).forEach((img) =&gt; img.removeAttribute(&#8216;onclick&#8217;));<\/p>\n<p>        <a id=\"showcase-link-7230817\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7230817\/2026\/04\/26\/shai-gilgeous-alexander-stats-playoffs-42-point-suns-thunder-nba\/\" class=\"showcase-link-container in-content-module-link testbed-shortcode\" data-shortcode-id=\"101\" data-shortcode-string=\"showcase-link\" data-content-id=\"7230817\" data-content-post-type=\"article\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"showcase-link\">What You Should Read Next<\/div>\n<div class=\"showcase-link-inner-content\">\n            <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/athletic\/uploads\/wp\/2026\/04\/25223500\/GettyImages-2273135045.jpg?width=400&amp;quality=70\" alt=\"SGA\u2019s 42-point masterpiece vs. Suns barely surprises Thunder: \u2018I\u2019ve grown to expect it\u2019\" class=\"showcase-link-image\" width=\"200\" height=\"200\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"showcase-link-text-content\">\n<div class=\"showcase-link-title\">\n                  SGA\u2019s 42-point masterpiece vs. Suns barely surprises Thunder: \u2018I\u2019ve grown to expect it\u2019\n              <\/div>\n<div class=\"showcase-link-excerpt\">\n                  Only three players in NBA history have shot 15 for 18 in a playoff game: Sam Jones in 1967, Michael Jordan in 1991 and SGA on Saturday.\n              <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>        <\/a><\/p><\/div>\n<p>The Thunder, looking to become the first champion to repeat since Curry\u2019s Golden State Warriors in 2017-18, started the season 24-1. Though they endured a series of injuries across different positions, Gilgeous-Alexander remained a constant. He often either played so well that his talents weren\u2019t required in a fourth-quarter blowout, or he reached for heroics in clutch time, a late-game portfolio that eventually helped him <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7216770\/2026\/04\/21\/nba-clutch-player-award-shai-gilgeous-alexander-sga\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">win this season\u2019s Clutch Player of the Year award<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>For the fourth consecutive season, Oklahoma City\u2019s leading man averaged at least 30 points, leaving him behind only Jordan (10), Wilt Chamberlain (eight) and Oscar Robertson (six) for the most total such seasons in league history. On March 12, SGA broke Chamberlain\u2019s record for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7112567\/2026\/03\/12\/sga-20-point-streak-wilt-chamberlain-record\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">consecutive 20-point regular-season games<\/a> with his 127th in a win over the Boston Celtics.<\/p>\n<div data-ath-video-stream=\"j7ODoF84Ad3ZXD7\"><\/div>\n<p>Gilgeous-Alexander\u2019s second MVP gives Oklahoma City four total since the franchise\u2019s inception in 2008, the most of any team during that time. Kevin Durant won in 2014, and Russell Westbrook won in 2017.<\/p>\n<p>In 2019, Thunder general manager Sam Presti acquired Gilgeous-Alexander after his rookie season from the LA Clippers in exchange for Paul George, who joined forces with then-NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard. Since then, including the playoffs, the Thunder have recorded the NBA\u2019s fourth-best record, trailing only the Celtics, Nuggets and Milwaukee Bucks.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The NBA\u2019s MVP, once again, resides in Oklahoma City. Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has won a second consecutive regular-season MVP award, the NBA announced Sunday. The 27-year-old beat fellow finalists Nikola Joki\u0107 of the Denver Nuggets and Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs. The now-two-time MVP finished with 83 first-place votes compared to 10 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,241],"class_list":["post-1940554","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-nytimes-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1940554","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1940554"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1940554\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1940554"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1940554"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1940554"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}