Shai Gilgeous-Alexander enters this season with a chance to do something that has not happened in 40 years: win three consecutive NBA Most Valuable Player awards. Only Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain and Larry Bird have managed that run, so the Oklahoma City Thunder star is already in rare company before a ball is tipped.
The numbers explain why he is being spoken about in that kind of historical frame. Over the last two seasons, Gilgeous-Alexander collected more than 75% of the first-place MVP votes and averaged 32 points per game. That level of consistency has made him the standard against which others are measured, even if the league's general managers preseason pick Victor Wembanyama to win the trophy next spring.
Shai: winning comes first
Gilgeous-Alexander has made his position clear. “I’ve just got to be the best player I can be for this basketball team, win as many games as possible,” he said. “That kind of recipe for me in the past has kind of worked, and I’ve been fortunate to win two in a row. No different for me going into this season.”
That answer fits the way he has spoken about his rise. The focus is not on the award itself, but on the team outcome that usually drives it. In that sense, the MVP conversation is a by-product of Oklahoma City’s success rather than the centre of his season.
Why the race is so unusual
What makes the chase more interesting is that the field around him is not standing still. International players have won the last eight MVP awards, and the league has seen elite talent cycle through the race year after year. Yet Gilgeous-Alexander is the one player with a realistic shot at joining the only three names ever to complete the three-peat.
There is also a belief from within the organisation that he is still improving. Sam Presti said there is “something that separates them from the others that makes them uniquely different,” and praised the baseline traits that have helped Gilgeous-Alexander become a consistent elite performer. Presti added that his “emotional awareness and regulation is superior,” calling it “extraordinary.”
Presti’s broader point was about growth, not just reputation. “His view is layered. He doesn’t live in a pass-fail world,” he said, before adding that Gilgeous-Alexander is “still going” and “has got a lot more levels to go.”
That lines up with the player’s own view of his game. “I feel like I’m a better basketball player, more versatile as a basketball player,” he said, adding: “In better shape, too.”
If that is true, the challenge for everyone else is obvious. Gilgeous-Alexander has already shown he can win at the highest level. Now he has a chance to turn a remarkable stretch into a place in NBA history that only Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain and Larry Bird have ever reached.
