Shai Gilgeous-Alexander wins NBA MVP over Nikola Jokić, concluding hotly debated race
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was named NBA MVP over Nikola Jokić on Wednesday in one of the most debated and contested MVP races in recent memory.
The MVP is the first for Gilgeous-Alexander, who led the Oklahoma City Thunder to the NBA's best record as the league's leading scorer. Gilgeous-Alexander finished in the top five of MVP voting in the previous two seasons as a first-team All-NBA selection.
Now, at 26 years old, he's claimed the league's top individual honor as his own and etched his name alongside the greats of NBA history. Giannis Antetokounmpo was also a finalist.
Gilgeous-Alexander secured 71 of the 100 first-place votes, while Jokić received the remaining 29. No other player received first- or second-place votes.
A global media panel of 100 voters selected the winner of the 2024-25 Kia NBA Most Valuable Player Award.The complete voting results ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/j4nqOAWVT2
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) May 21, 2025
In 76 regular-season games, Gilgeous-Alexander averaged a league-best 32.7 points alongside 6.4 assists and 4.1 rebounds per game while shooting 51.9% from the field and 37.5% on 5.7 3-point attempts per game. He was a standout on defense who averaged 1.7 steals and one block per game for a team that led the NBA in defensive rating with 106.6 points allowed per 100 possessions.
He did all of this during a dominant season for the Thunder in which they clinched the No. 1 seed in the West on March 20 with 13 games remaining on their regular-season schedule. Oklahoma City finished the regular season at 68-14, 16 games ahead of the second-place Houston Rockets (52-30) in the West and four games ahead of the Cleveland Cavaliers, who finished the season with the NBA's second-best record (64-18).
Gilgeous-Alexander's package of excellence on both sides of the ball for the NBA's best team ultimately compelled voters to award him his first MVP and deny Jokić his fourth.
Jokić, who won three of the previous four NBA MVPs for the Denver Nuggets, made a strong case for his fourth with a campaign that stands as one of the greatest individual statistical seasons in NBA history.
In 70 regular-season games, Jokić averaged 29.6 points, 12.7 rebounds, 10.2 assists, 1.8 steals and 0.6 blocks while shooting 57.6% from the floor and 41.7% on 4.7 3-point attempts per game. Jokić joined Oscar Robertson and Russell Westbrook as the only players in NBA history to average a triple-double for a full season.
Jokić also rated elite in advanced metrics and finished the season with the fourth-highest player efficiency rating (PER) in NBA history (32.04), trailing only his 2021-22 MVP self (32.85), 1961-62 Wilt Chamberlain (32.08) and 2021-22 Giannis Antetokounmpo (32.05).
Gilgeous-Alexander also rated well with the 25th-best PER in league history (30.66), but his PER profile didn't match up with Jokić's. He did edge Jokić in win shares per 48 minutes, another advanced statistical profile that's given considerable weight in evaluating individual performances.
Gilgeous-Alexander led the league with .309 win shares per 48 minutes, just ahead of Jokić's .307. Cleveland's Jarrett Allen finished a distant third with .243, while MVP finalist Antetokounmpo finished with .241.
For a seventh straight season, Jokić led a Nuggets team without another All-Star into the playoffs as the No. 4 seed in the West with a 50-32 record. The Nuggets were a completely different team with Jokić off the floor. With Jokić on the court, Denver outscored its opponents by 594 points. Without Jokić, opponents outscored the Nuggets by 275.
By comparison, a superior Thunder team outscored opponents with Gilgeous-Alexander on the court by an overwhelming 918 points. The Thunder were still better without Gilgeous-Alexander and outscored opponents by 137 points when he was on the bench.
The MVP finalists met on the floor in the second round of the playoffs, where Gilgeous-Alexander also got the upper hand on Jokić. Gilgeous-Alexander's Thunder concluded a hotly contested seven-game series in the Western Conference semifinals with a Game 7 blowout of the Nuggets on Sunday, ending Denver's hopes of a second NBA championship in three seasons.
The Thunder advanced to face the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Western Conference finals and won Game 1 in a runaway Tuesday night. Playoff results had no bearing on MVP voting, which was tallied at the conclusion of the regular season.
Ultimately, Gilgeous-Alexander was the best player on the league's best team and the league's leading scorer. And that proved to be enough for voters to separate Gilgeous-Alexander from Jokić in an MVP debate that won't end because the trophy's been handed out.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Newsweek
29 minutes ago
- Newsweek
Thunder-Pacers NBA Finals Game 1 Draws Lowest Audience in Nearly 40 Years
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Entering the 2025 NBA Finals, one of the biggest debates around the series was how the ratings would play out. With both the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers being small-market teams, many wondered whether fans would be tuning in. More NBA news: Thunder Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Speaks Out Following NBA Finals Game 1 Collapse Game 1 between the two teams was electric, but the fears of the NBA did play out. According to Sports Media Watch, Game 1 of the NBA Finals generated the lowest audience since 1988, excluding the 2020 and 2021 series, which were impacted by COVID-19. The game reportedly averaged a 4.7 rating and 8.91 million viewers on ABC. This is far lower than Game 1 of last season between the Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks, which drew in around 11 million viewers on average. OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA - JUNE 05: Tyrese Haliburton #0 of the Indiana Pacers scores a basket with .3 seconds remaining during the fourth quarter against the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game One of the 2025... OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA - JUNE 05: Tyrese Haliburton #0 of the Indiana Pacers scores a basket with .3 seconds remaining during the fourth quarter against the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game One of the 2025 NBA Finals at Paycom Center on June 05, 2025 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. More Photo byBut there is one saving grace for the league. With the game being close at the end, the NBA Finals peaked around 11 million viewers to witness the game-winning shot by Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton. The NBA also reports that Game 1 generated nearly three times more viewers than any other network. Additionally, the game registered more than 500 million views on social media, which is an all-time record. 🏀 Indiana's Game 1 victory over Oklahoma City in the NBA Finals on ABC peaked with 11 million viewers at the end of the 4th quarter when Tyrese Haliburton hit the game-winning shot. 🏀 Game 1 averaged nearly 3 times more viewers than the next most-watched program on any other... — NBA Communications (@NBAPR) June 7, 2025 It seems that more people were tuning in online, rather than actually watching the game. This could be part of the new digital era, or people simply not wanting to pay for all the different streaming services to watch games. This could either help set up more excitement for the next game, or it could just be a spur-of-the-moment situation for the NBA. Either way, the league could be in trouble if ratings continue to be low throughout this series. More NBA news: Shaquille O'Neal Shares Harsh Criticism for Thunder After NBA Finals Loss But with two tiny markets in the NBA and no established stars in the series, things could be tough for the league. Haliburton and Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander are superstars in the NBA, but neither one of them is established enough to draw in an audience of casual fans. Entering the series, many believed that Oklahoma City would dominate the Pacers. But Indiana showed some tricks up its sleeve, and that could help generate more interest as the series goes forward. More NBA news: Knicks and Former MVP Have 'Mutual Interest' Amid Trade Rumors: Report Kevin Durant Trade Speculation Will Reportedly Get Aggressive in Coming Weeks Clippers Seen as Sleeper Team to Land Former NBA MVP: Report For more on Pacers, Thunder, and general NBA news, head over to Newsweek Sports.
Yahoo
38 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Report: Growing 'skepticism' Giannis Antetokounmpo will request a trade
While teams from New York to Los Angeles and everywhere in between — as well as north into Canada — have mapped out their strategies for a Giannis Antetokounmpo trade market, those plans increasingly look like they will be DOA. The Antetokounmpo trade market is very quiet and teams are increasingly coming to the idea he is not going to hit the open market, something Jake Fischer talked about at Bleacher Report: Advertisement "Around the combine two weeks ago, two and a half weeks ago, there was no shortage of optimism, of hope, of excitement from other teams that they were going to be able to potentially make an offer to get Giannis Antetokounmpo into their franchise, into their building. Of late, I'd say that that confidence has been replaced with skepticism. To a man, from talking to agents, team executives, whoever, there is not a lot of belief right now at this juncture... the expectation is that they're going to believe it when they see it — that someone who has valued being the franchise face, that the central linchpin of the Bucks franchise, is going to want to play somewhere else." One league source echoed that, telling NBC Sports that his team was in "wait and see" mode. Fischer said that whatever decision Antetokounmpo and the Bucks make, it will likely be made close to the draft. Another possibility is that there will be no bidding war, that Antetokounmpo will inform the Bucks that they can only trade him to one or two teams. If a fair deal is not found, then it will end there, and he will stay in Milwaukee. The decision to stay or go ultimately falls to Antetokounmpo, who loves Milwaukee, his family is happy there, and he cherishes the idea of being a one-team player for his entire career, but also realizes that in the wake of Damian Lillard's Achilles injury the Bucks are not going to contend for a title next season. He has to decide what matters most to him at this stage of his career. Advertisement The other challenge Antetokounmpo faces is that the grass is not always greener elsewhere. He could be traded to a team such as Houston or San Antonio and make them instant title contenders, but would then moved to a stacked Western Conference with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the 68-win Thunder, Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets, Antony Edwards and the Timberwolves, LeBron James and Luka Doncic with the Lakers, Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler with the Warriors, and on down the line. Even with Antetokounmpo, it would be tough to reach the Finals out of the West. He could demand to stay in the East, but with what the Bucks will ask in return, a trade to any team in that conference — New York, Toronto, Miami, Cleveland, wherever — strips that roster so far down of talent that he is in the same situation he is in Milwaukee (a top-three MVP season got the Bucks the five seed and a first-round playoff exit). Whatever decision is coming, don't expect it to come anytime soon.
NBC Sports
44 minutes ago
- NBC Sports
Report: Growing 'skepticism' Giannis Antetokounmpo will request a trade
While teams from New York to Los Angeles and everywhere in between — as well as north into Canada — have mapped out their strategies for a Giannis Antetokounmpo trade market, those plans increasingly look like they will be DOA. The Antetokounmpo trade market is very quiet and teams are increasingly coming to the idea he is not going to hit the open market, something Jake Fischer talked about at Bleacher Report: 'Around the combine two weeks ago, two and a half weeks ago, there was no shortage of optimism, of hope, of excitement from other teams that they were going to be able to potentially make an offer to get Giannis Antetokounmpo into their franchise, into their building. Of late, I'd say that that confidence has been replaced with skepticism. To a man, from talking to agents, team executives, whoever, there is not a lot of belief right now at this juncture... the expectation is that they're going to believe it when they see it — that someone who has valued being the franchise face, that the central linchpin of the Bucks franchise, is going to want to play somewhere else.' One league source echoed that, telling NBC Sports that his team was in 'wait and see' mode. Fischer said that whatever decision Antetokounmpo and the Bucks make, it will likely be made close to the draft. Another possibility is that there will be no bidding war, that Antetokounmpo will inform the Bucks that they can only trade him to one or two teams. If a fair deal is not found, then it will end there, and he will stay in Milwaukee. The decision to stay or go ultimately falls to Antetokounmpo, who loves Milwaukee, his family is happy there, and he cherishes the idea of being a one-team player for his entire career, but also realizes that in the wake of Damian Lillard's Achilles injury the Bucks are not going to contend for a title next season. He has to decide what matters most to him at this stage of his career. The other challenge Antetokounmpo faces is that the grass is not always greener elsewhere. He could be traded to a team such as Houston or San Antonio and make them instant title contenders, but would then moved to a stacked Western Conference with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the 68-win Thunder, Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets, Antony Edwards and the Timberwolves, LeBron James and Luka Doncic with the Lakers, Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler with the Warriors, and on down the line. Even with Antetokounmpo, it would be tough to reach the Finals out of the West. He could demand to stay in the East, but with what the Bucks will ask in return, a trade to any team in that conference — New York, Toronto, Miami, Cleveland, wherever — strips that roster so far down of talent that he is in the same situation he is in Milwaukee (a top-three MVP season got the Bucks the five seed and a first-round playoff exit). Whatever decision is coming, don't expect it to come anytime soon.
