OKLAHOMA CITY – Shai Gilgeous-Alexander capped off one of the most impactful individual seasons in NBA history by lifting the Bill Russell trophy, awarded to the Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP).
Gilgeous-Alexander joins a select group of players who have managed to win the regular season MVP and the Finals MVP in the same year. Other players who achieved this feat are Michael Jordan (four times), LeBron James (twice), Larry Bird (twice), Tim Duncan, Shaquille O’Neal, Hakeem Olajuwon, Magic Johnson, Moses Malone, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Willis Reed. Gilgeous-Alexander’s most memorable performance in the Finals came in Game 4, where the Thunder pulled off a crucial comeback on the road to tie the series. He scored 15 of his 35 points in the final five minutes, the most for any player in the final five minutes of a Finals game in at least 50 years. Gilgeous-Alexander closed out the series with 29 points and 12 assists in Oklahoma City’s Game 7 victory, with a score of 103-91. With an average of 32.7 points per game during the regular season and 30.3 in the Finals, Gilgeous-Alexander also became the first player to win the scoring title and the NBA championship in the same season since O’Neal in 2000. The only other players who have achieved this are Jordan (six times), Abdul-Jabbar, George Mikan (twice), and Joe Fulks. The average scoring of Gilgeous-Alexander in the regular season is the highest ever recorded by a player who won the title that season, surpassing Jordan in 1992-93 by one tenth of a point.This is not just a victory for me. It’s a victory for my family, my friends, and for everyone who supported me. It’s a victory for the fans.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
