Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: NBA Champion, MVP and Scoring King at 26

The Oklahoma City Thunder's dominant 103-91 victory over the Indiana Pacers in Game 7 of the NBA Finals on Sunday wasn't just a collective coronation for a franchise claiming its first title since relocating to OKC; it was also a definitive crowning moment for their superstar guard, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. In a truly historic finale, SGA delivered 29 points and 12 assists, becoming only the fifth player in NBA history to achieve a 20-point, 10-assist performance in a Game 7 of the Finals.

The 2024-25 campaign saw Gilgeous-Alexander reach unprecedented heights: he won the scoring title, was named the league's MVP, and culminated it all with an NBA championship, all while leading his team to the best point differential in league history. This remarkable individual and team success could soon be followed by a lucrative four-year, $293.4 million extension, which would make him the highest-paid player in the history of the sport based on average annual salary.

SGA IS AWARDED THE BILL RUSSELL TROPHY AS THE NBA FINALS MVP 🏆

4th player to win #KiaMVP, the scoring title and the Finals MVP in the same season! pic.twitter.com/JP93jzjipu

— NBA (@NBA) June 23, 2025

At just 26 years old, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is rapidly ascending the ranks of the NBA's all-time greats. He now stands alongside Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the only players in NBA history to win an MVP award, a Finals MVP award, and a scoring title by the age of 26. (Bob Pettit would likely also be on this exclusive list, but the Finals MVP award did not exist when he led the St. Louis Hawks to a title in 1958).

Players With MVP, Finals MVP and Scoring Title in Career

• Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: 23
• Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: 26
• LeBron James: 27
• Michael Jordan: 27
• Shaquille O'Neal: 27
• Kevin Durant: 28
• Kobe Bryant: 30
• Stephen Curry: 33
• Wilt Chamberlain: 35

Gilgeous-Alexander's ascent to this NBA peak has been anything but conventional. He was a modest 30th-ranked recruit in his high school class, with many higher-ranked prospects never even making it to the NBA. In his sole college season, he was not even the highest-scoring freshman on his own team. Drafted 11th overall, he was traded twice in his rookie year – first on draft night, then as part of the Paul George trade to Oklahoma City. Despite a promising debut season, he earned only second-team All-Rookie honors.

While other recent champions and MVPs like Nikola Jokic (a second-round pick) and Giannis Antetokounmpo (who started playing basketball as a teenager) had similarly improbable paths, Gilgeous-Alexander's trajectory has far surpassed even conservative expectations. Seven years ago, pre-draft scouting reports compared him to players like Shaun Livingston and Patrick McCaw, neither of whom ever averaged double-digit points in a season. Today, Gilgeous-Alexander's résumé is already that of a surefire Hall of Famer, eclipsing even Derrick Rose, the only retired MVP not yet in the Hall, whose career never reached the All-NBA heights again after his 2011 MVP season.

More strikingly, Gilgeous-Alexander now measures up against many of the greatest guards in league history. He already boasts as many first-team All-NBA selections (three) as Hall of Famers such as Isiah Thomas, Steve Nash, Allen Iverson, and Tiny Archibald. He also has more than a host of other NBA 75th Anniversary Team guards, including Russell Westbrook, Dwyane Wade, John Stockton, and Reggie Miller. This puts him firmly in the conversation as a top-50, or even higher, player all-time, depending on how one weighs peak performance versus career longevity.

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At 26, while his overall counting stats might not yet match some of these legends, his accumulation of MVP award shares (a measure of the percentage of possible votes received) is astounding. With first-, second-, and fifth-place MVP finishes, he already ranks 35th in career MVP award shares. One more strong season could vault him into the top 30, and two more could place him among the top 20 all-time.

Gilgeous-Alexander is a well-rounded star, having led the league in steals last season, but his supreme skill is undeniably scoring. He is now one of only 15 players in NBA history to average at least 30 points in three separate seasons. What truly distinguishes his scoring prowess is his elite efficiency, achieved through midrange mastery, finesse at the rim, and a nearly 90% conversion rate from the free-throw line. He and Adrian Dantley are the only players in NBA history with at least three seasons averaging 30 points per game on 62% or better true shooting. While scoring efficiency is higher in the modern era, SGA has expertly leveraged this context to become one of the most efficient high-volume scorers ever.

His effectiveness extends across key play types in today's NBA. Over the past three seasons, he ranks second in points per isolation among players with at least 300 isolations. He's also fourth in points per pick-and-roll as the ball handler (though notably, Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton leads in both categories). Furthermore, Gilgeous-Alexander is the league's undisputed "driving king," leading the league in drives every season over the past five years, accumulating over 1,000 more total drives than second-place Luka Doncic.

Highest-Scoring Seasons for NBA Champion

• Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2024-25): 32.7
• Michael Jordan (1992-93): 32.6
• Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1970-71): 31.7
• Michael Jordan (1990-91): 31.5
• Rick Barry (1974-75): 30.6
• Michael Jordan (1995-96): 30.4
• Michael Jordan (1991-92): 30.1

Unlike Michael Jordan, who famously did not win championships in his three highest-scoring seasons, Gilgeous-Alexander has seamlessly blended individual scoring brilliance with ultimate team success. Since the invention of the shot clock, only SGA, Jordan (six times), Shaquille O'Neal, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar have won both the scoring title and the championship in the same season. Even more impressive, SGA's 32.7 points per game in the 2024-25 regular season is the highest scoring average for any player in NBA history who won a championship that same season, narrowly edging out Jordan's 32.6 points per game in 1992-93. Gilgeous-Alexander also boasts the highest usage rate for a champion, at 34.8%, just surpassing Jordan's 34.7% in 1992-93.

When comparing Gilgeous-Alexander's last three seasons to Michael Jordan's iconic 1991-1993 run (arguably the most successful three-season stretch by a guard in NBA history), the offensive similarities are striking, including identical points-per-game figures and league-adjusted efficiency. While Jordan's defensive prowess and three titles in that span set him apart, SGA's offensive output stands shoulder-to-shoulder.

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Amidst the well-deserved praise for Oklahoma City's exceptional roster construction—from shrewd trades and undrafted finds to clever extensions—Gilgeous-Alexander's pivotal role often feels understated. Without his MVP-level talent, the Thunder, despite their depth and promising young stars like Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren, would likely be a strong Western Conference team, but not necessarily NBA champions with a historic point differential. He is the singular force that propelled them from rebuilding to hoisting the Larry O'Brien Trophy with such unprecedented speed.

The mutual benefit of this relationship is clear: for SGA to climb higher in the NBA's all-time ranks, he will undoubtedly need more championships. This is a formidable challenge in the modern NBA, which has seen seven different champions in as many years. However, with their youthful core and rapidly improving sidekicks, the Oklahoma City Thunder are arguably the best-positioned team since the mid-2010s Golden State Warriors to build a dynasty from their first title.

While it is still too early to place Gilgeous-Alexander on the same historical pedestal as recent legends like Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, LeBron James, and Stephen Curry, his youth, remarkable accomplishments to date, and the immense potential for sustained team success with the Thunder suggest that the ultimate pedestal is well within his reach.