Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has described winning the NBA Most Valuable Player award for a second straight season as “special” after retaining the league’s top individual honour.
The Oklahoma City Thunder guard beat Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets and Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs to secure the award dominantly.
Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 939 voting points, ahead of Jokic’s 634 and Wembanyama’s 569.
The Canadian superstar became just the 14th player in NBA history to win the MVP award in consecutive seasons and used his acceptance speech to reflect on the significance of the achievement.
“It’s special. All those guys have shaped the game of basketball. All those guys have changed the game, how it’s played, and how it was approached before that. To be in that circle, to be in that conversation, it’s something that I don’t take lightly. I’m super grateful for it,” Gilgeous-Alexander said.
The defending NBA champions have also booked a place in the Western Conference Finals, where they will face the Spurs in Game One on Tuesday, May 19.
