The NBA announced Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as its 2025 MVP, and one of the first things the Oklahoma City Thunder star did after winning the award was give back to his teammates. Gilgeous-Alexander purchased gift baskets for every player on the Thunder roster, and according to ESPN’s Shams Charania, the contents of each basket cost well over $10,000.
Every Thunder player, including those on two-way contracts, received gift baskets at Wednesday night’s team celebration, which included Rolex watches, iPhones, Beats by Dre headphones and Canada Goose jackets. Charania said the jackets featured custom embroidered patches commemorating the Thunder’s 68-14 record, which tied the sixth-best regular-season mark in NBA history.
Team success was a significant part of Gilgeous-Alexander’s MVP résumé. He was the most productive player on one of the most highly accomplished teams in league history, which put him at the forefront of the conversation along with award finalists Nikola Jokić and Giannis Antetokounmpo. Gilgeous-Alexander outdid the other finalists with 71 of the 100 first-place votes. Jokić finished second and Antetokounmpo third in the voting.
Gilgeous-Alexander became the first Thunder player to win the MVP award since Russell Westbrook earned the honor in 2016. He is also the seventh straight winner to be born outside of the United States, following Jokić, Antetokounmpo and Joel Embiid. Gilgeous-Alexander is the first Kentucky Wildcats product to secure the league’s highest individual honor as well.
Gilgeous-Alexander put on a show on the eve of his MVP selection, delivering a 31-point performance in Tuesday’s Western Conference Final opener. He racked up 20 points in the second half en route to a 114-88 win and drew high praise from throughout the league, including from former Denver Nuggets coach Michael Malone.
Malone raised eyebrows when he said that Gilgeous-Alexander “showed why he’s the MVP” in that playoff performance. The former Nuggets coach stumped for the Thunder star despite having overseen Jokić’s development into a three-time MVP winner.
Gilgeous-Alexander led the NBA in scoring during the regular season with a career-best 32.7 points per game. This year marked the third straight campaign in which the guard averaged better than 30 points per contest. He finished in the top five of MVP voting in each of the prior two seasons, too, with a fifth-place standing in 2023 and runner-up title in 2024.
The 32.7-point average put Gilgeous-Alexander in rare company. He joined James Harden, Kobe Bryant, Luka Dončić and Allen Iverson as the only guards since 2000 to score that much on a game-by-game basis, and his scoring average was the second-highest in NBA history on a team with at least 60 wins.
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