Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, guard for the NBA's Oklahoma City Thunder, has been named the league's Most Valuable Player for the second consecutive season.
The NBA league office announced on Wednesday (Korean time) that Gilgeous-Alexander was selected as the MVP of the 2025-2026 NBA regular season. Gilgeous-Alexander received 939 points, including 83 first-place votes and 13 second-place votes from a panel of 100 media members, edging out Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets to claim the MVP honor.
With the back-to-back MVP, Gilgeous-Alexander became the 14th player in NBA history to win the award in consecutive seasons. Gilgeous-Alexander, a Canadian national, also extended a streak in which non-American players have been named MVP for eight consecutive years since 2019.
This season, Gilgeous-Alexander appeared in 68 regular-season games, averaging 31.1 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 6.6 assists. His scoring average ranked second in the league behind Luka Doncic of the Los Angeles Lakers. He has also extended his streak of scoring at least 20 points to 140 games. He demonstrated his strength in decisive moments, winning the "Clutch Player" award given to the player who performs best in the final five minutes of games.
"Just being able to play against great players every night is a blessing," Gilgeous-Alexander said. "Our team's shared goal is bigger than any individual award." Oklahoma City, the defending champion from last season, has advanced to the Western Conference Finals and will face the San Antonio Spurs in the series starting Thursday.
