Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is not done collecting hardware. The Oklahoma City Thunder star has won his second consecutive NBA Most Valuable Player award, joining one of the most exclusive clubs in basketball history. At just 27 years old, he is the 14th player ever to win back-to-back MVP honours — and the list of names he now stands alongside is extraordinary.
The announcement was made before Game 7 of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Detroit Pistons series on Sunday, one day before the Thunder open their Western Conference Finals series against the San Antonio Spurs. Oklahoma City finished the regular season with a 64-18 record — the best mark in the NBA for the second consecutive year. Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 31.1 points, 6.6 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 1.4 steals per game while shooting 39% from three-point range. He was second in scoring league-wide behind Luka Dončić, who averaged 33.5 points per game for the Los Angeles Lakers.
A Record That Belonged to Wilt Chamberlain — Until Now
The numbers alone tell much of the story, but the context tells the rest. Gilgeous-Alexander shouldered a significantly heavier offensive burden this season with Jalen Williams limited to just 33 games through hamstring injuries. Several other key contributors — Alex Caruso, Isaiah Hartenstein, and Ajay Mitchell — also missed 25 or more games during the regular season. The Thunder won 64 games anyway.
In the middle of all that, Gilgeous-Alexander set an NBA record with 127 consecutive games scoring 20 or more points — breaking a mark set by Wilt Chamberlain between 1961 and 1963. He scored 40 or more points seven times, including a career-high 55 in a double-overtime victory over the Indiana Pacers in just the second game of the season.
The last player to win consecutive MVP awards was Nikola Jokić of the Denver Nuggets, who took the honour for the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons. Giannis Antetokounmpo did it in the two seasons before that. Since 2000, the back-to-back club includes Tim Duncan, Steve Nash, LeBron James — who achieved it twice — and Stephen Curry. Gilgeous-Alexander now belongs in that conversation without qualification.
Jokić and Victor Wembanyama were the other finalists this season. Jokić, 31, averaged 27.7 points, 12.9 rebounds, and 10.7 assists — becoming the first player to lead the league in both rebounds and assists in a single season. Wembanyama, 22, averaged 25 points, 11.5 rebounds, and 3.1 blocks, winning Defensive Player of the Year in a unanimous vote. In any other era, either player might have won. Gilgeous-Alexander beat them both.
His trophy case is becoming genuinely remarkable. Two MVP awards. An NBA Finals MVP from last season. Clutch Player of the Year. Four All-Star appearances. Three All-NBA first-team selections. He leads the Thunder into the postseason scoring 29.1 points per game, and Oklahoma City has not lost a single game in the 2025-26 playoffs after sweeping the Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Lakers in the first two rounds.
The Thunder selected Gilgeous-Alexander with the 11th overall pick in 2018 — a player the Charlotte Hornets drafted and immediately traded to the Los Angeles Clippers for Miles Bridges and two second-round picks. One year later, Oklahoma City acquired him from the Clippers in the Paul George trade, giving up five first-round picks, two pick swaps, and Danilo Galinari to get him. In hindsight, it is one of the greatest trades in NBA history. The Clippers are still waiting for their championship. Gilgeous-Alexander already has his — and now has two MVP trophies to go with it.
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