Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been named the NBA’s Most Valuable Player for a second straight season, ESPN reported on Sunday. Gilgeous-Alexander, who is also the reigning NBA Finals MVP, is due to be officially named as the winner of the award later Sunday in a televised announcement.
The ESPN report did not provide details of the voting for the award, which saw Gilgeous-Alexander up against San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama and Denver’s Nikola Jokic. Canadian star Gilgeous-Alexander, 27, joins an elite club of only 14 NBA players who have won back-to-back MVP honors. Nuggets star Jokic was the last to achieve the feat in 2021 and 2022, while the Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo also went back-to-back in 2019 and 2020.
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Other players to have won consecutive MVPs include Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, and Larry Bird. Gilgeous-Alexander’s second award comes after another dazzling individual season that saw him average 31.1 points and 6.6 assists per game, helping the Thunder to a 64-18 record that saw them finish on top of the Western Conference.
The Thunder face Wembanyama and the Spurs in game one of the Western Conference finals on Monday. Gilgeous-Alexander’s MVP also extends a streak of overseas players to win the honor. The last American to win NBA MVP was James Harden in 2018.
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