Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Wins Second Straight NBA MVP Award

SGA makes history as Thunder star repeats as MVP

Gilgeous-Alexander edged Nikola Jokic and Victor Wembanyama in MVP voting after leading the Thunder to back-to-back Maurice Podolff Trophies.

OKC’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander named NBA MVP for second year running...

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been voted NBA Most Valuable Player for the second consecutive year. Multiple sources report that he earned the award after leading the Thunder to the league’s best record for the second season running.

The Thunder became the first team to win the Maurice Podolff Trophy in back-to-back years. They finished 68-14 in 2024-25 and 64-18 in 2025-26, posting the best winning percentage in the league both seasons.

At 27, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander recorded his fourth straight season averaging over 30 points per game. He finished his 68-game campaign with 31.1 points per game on a career-best 55.3% shooting. The Canadian star, who signed a 4-year, $285 million supermax extension with the Thunder in July 2025, also averaged 6.6 assists, 4.3 rebounds, 1.4 steals, and 0.8 blocks.

 

2 Consistent. 2x MVP ✌️#SGA2MVP | #KiaMVP pic.twitter.com/jAVa40yJfv

— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) May 17, 2026

During the 2025-26 season, Gilgeous-Alexander passed Wilt Chamberlain’s record of 126 straight 20-point games. He extended the streak to 140 games by the end of the regular season, having scored at least 20 points in every game for a second consecutive year.

Gilgeous-Alexander’s run now surpasses Chamberlain’s second-longest streak of 92 games, Oscar Robertson’s 79-game streak, and the 72-game runs posted by both Kevin Durant and Michael Jordan.

"He was the first person to really tell me I was going to go to the NBA other than my family. It's crazy how life works."

SGA, the newest 2x @Kia NBA MVP on 2x NBA MVP Steve Nash announcing him as MVP tonight 🤝 https://t.co/0EMLRu5ysw pic.twitter.com/pVeOclIG7A

— NBA (@NBA) May 18, 2026

Gilgeous-Alexander also won MVP in the 2024-25 season. That year he averaged 32.7 points, 5.0 rebounds, 6.4 assists, 1.7 blocks, and 1.0 steals per game as the Thunder captured their first NBA title since moving to Oklahoma City.

Gilgeous-Alexander Tops Jokic and Wembanyama in MVP Race

In this season’s MVP voting, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finished ahead of three-time winner Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets and San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama.

Jokic and Wembanyama Post Historic Seasons

Jokic set career highs in rebounds with 12.9 and assists with 10.7 during the 2025-26 season, averaging a triple-double for the second year in a row. Wembanyama became the first player to be unanimously named Defensive Player of the Year, finishing with 25.0 points, 11.5 rebounds, 3.1 blocks, 3.1 assists, and 1.0 steals per game.

International Stars Dominate Top of the Ballot

Canada, Serbia, and France were all represented among first-place MVP votes. The last American-born player to finish in the top three was Stephen Curry in 2021, when the two-time MVP placed third with five first-place votes.

Gilgeous-Alexander also won the NBA’s Clutch Player of the Year award. He received 96 of 100 possible first-place votes after scoring 175 points in the final five minutes of regulation and overtime.

The Los Angeles Clippers selected Gilgeous-Alexander 11th overall in the 2018 NBA Draft. He joined the OKC Thunder in July 2019 as part of the Paul George trade. After spending his first season in Oklahoma learning alongside Chris Paul, Gilgeous-Alexander quickly became the team’s star. He received MVP votes in 2023 and 2024, won his first MVP award in 2025, and was named an NBA All-Star every year from 2023 to 2026.