SGA enters stretch run as heavy favourite for NBA MVP
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With just over two months remaining in the 2024-25 NBA regular season, Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander appears to be well on his way to capturing the league’s Most Valuable Player award.
The Canadian superstar is leading the NBA in scoring at 32.7 points per game, while helping the Thunder to the best record in the league at 42-9.
Across his past 10 games, the 6-foot-6 guard has eclipsed the 50-point mark on three separate occasions after never having done so in each of his first six seasons in league.
His career-high of 54 points came on Jan. 22 in a 123-114 victory over the Utah Jazz, where he also set the record for the highest scoring single-game performance by a Canadian in NBA history.
The Hamilton, Ont. native scored 23 points in the first half, before adding 18 points in the third quarter alone to help accomplish the feat.
Along with the record-setting scoring performance, he also finished with eight rebounds, five assists, three steals, and two blocks on 48.6 per cent shooting in the win.
While his offensive capabilities might have catapulted him into league-wide stardom, the area where Gilgeous-Alexander has shown the most improvement this season has been on the defensive side of the ball.
The 26-year-old is tied for second among the NBA’s steal leaders at 1.9, while ranking second among guards with 1.0 blocks per game.
Alongside fellow Canadian Lu Dort, Gilgeous-Alexander has been a defensive stalwart on a Thunder team that has limited their opponents to a league-low 104.8 points per game.
He is also the only player in the NBA to be ranked inside the top five in both offensive and defensive rating this season at 121.9 and 102.9, respectively.
FanDuel SportsBook currently offers Gilgeous-Alexander at -650 odds as an overwhelming favourite to win the MVP.
Denver Nuggets centre Nikola Jokic is listed with the second-shortest odds at +430, while Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo remains a distant third with +7500 odds.
Jokic and Antetokounmpo have combined to win five of the past six MVP awards, but Gilgeous-Alexander looks to be in pole position this time around as the NBA's stretch run begins following last week’s trade deadline.