Gilgeous-Alexander enters one of NBA's most elite clubs
He's the most valuable player. The scoring champion. And now, an NBA champion along with NBA Finals MVP.
All in one season.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has entered one of the game's most elite clubs.
The 26-year-old Canadian is atop the basketball world now in almost every way imaginable after he led the Oklahoma City Thunder to the NBA title, beating the Indiana Pacers 103-91 to win the finals in a seven-game thriller.
He becomes the fourth player in NBA history to win MVP, Finals MVP, a scoring title and play for a champion in the same season. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar did it once, Michael Jordan then did it four times, and Shaquille O'Neal was the last entrant into that fraternity - until now.
The title caps a season where the Thunder won 84 games, tied for the third most by any team in any season in NBA history.
Gilgeous-Alexander finished the season with 64 games of at least 30 points. The only other players to score 30 points that many times in a season: Wilt Chamberlain, Rick Barry, Elgin Baylor, Bob McAdoo, James Harden, Jordan and Abdul-Jabbar.
"Focusing on just being the best version of myself for this basketball team, for whatever it takes, for however many games it is, however many possessions is needed, however many moments," Gilgeous-Alexander said. "Ultimately, I'm just trying to stay in the moment. I think that's what's gotten me here."
This was not a sneak attack up the ladder of superstardom. Gilgeous-Alexander has been climbing those rungs for years.
He's one of only two players — Giannis Antetokounmpo is the other — to average at least 30 points per game in each of the last three seasons.
He led Canada to a bronze medal (over the United States, no less) at the World Cup in 2023, been an All-Star and first-team All-NBA pick for three years running, and just finished a season where he posted career bests in points and assists per game.
He scored 3172 points this season, including playoffs, the ninth-most by any player in NBA history.
Oh, and he's a champion now.
"He's getting better every year in just about everything," Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. "I think he's really improved as a playmaker. … And then he's an unbelievable scorer, and incredibly efficient. We lean into that."
Opponents have no choice but to marvel at how Gilgeous-Alexander does what he does. He's not a high-flying artist like Jordan, not an unstoppable force of power like LeBron James, not a 3-point dazzler like Stephen Curry.
He looks like he's playing at his own pace much of time, largely because defences have few ways to slow him down or speed him up.
"Shai, he's so good," said star Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton during the series. "He's so slippery in between those gaps. He splits screens, like, I don't know how he's doing that. … He's a really tough cover."
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