OKLAHOMA CITY -- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was named the NBA's Most Valuable Player for the second consecutive season Sunday, winning the award in a landslide after another stellar year for the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder.
Gilgeous-Alexander is only the fifth active player to be named the MVP in consecutive seasons. He's also the seventh over the past 40 years to win multiple MVPs before turning 28. The others are Nikola Jokic (Denver Nuggets), Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks), Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors), Tim Duncan (San Antonio Spurs), Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls) and LeBron James.
Every retired player to win consecutive MVPs has been inducted into the Hall of Fame. That list also includes Steve Nash, Duncan, Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Moses Malone, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell.
"It's special," Gilgeous-Alexander said of joining such exclusive company. "All those guys have shaped the game of basketball. All those guys have changed the game and how it's played and how it was approached before that. To be in just that circle, to be in that conversation, it's something that I don't take lightly. I'm super grateful for it."
Gilgeous-Alexander was flanked by his Thunder teammates during a news conference at the Thunder's practice facility, just like last year after he won his first MVP. They all wore Burberry trench coats that were given to them as part of a lavish gift basket by Gilgeous-Alexander, who noted that they all fit well except for Chet Holmgren, vowing to get one tailored to fit his 7-foot-1 frame.
The Thunder won't have long to celebrate the award as their much-anticipated series against MVP rival Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs is set to start Monday evening in Oklahoma City.
"Obviously, a really good team," Gilgeous-Alexander said of the Spurs. "They've been right behind us all year, so we obviously don't take them in the slightest. They're a really good team."
A global media panel of 100 voters selected the winner of the 2025-26 Kia NBA Most Valuable Player Award.
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) May 17, 2026
The complete voting results ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/ki6ZYk5Tq9
The other MVP finalists this season were Jokic and Wembanyama. Gilgeous-Alexander led the way with 83 of the 100 total first-place votes, while Jokic finished second and Wembanyama third. It's the sixth straight year Jokic finished in the top two in MVP voting, a feat that had previously been accomplished by only Bird (1981-86) and Russell (1958-63).
Luka Doncic of the Los Angeles Lakers and Cade Cunningham of the Detroit Pistons rounded out the top five. Both players just missed the NBA's cutoff for postseason award eligibility but were granted an exception upon appeal. Cunningham, who finished fifth, earned two first-place votes, becoming the first U.S. player to receive first-place votes since 2021.
Gilgeous-Alexander, 27, ranked second in the NBA in scoring with 31.1 points per game while shooting a career-best 55.3% from the field. He also averaged a career-high 6.6 assists for the 64-18 Thunder, who had the NBA's best record for the second consecutive season.
The reigning Finals MVP, Gilgeous-Alexander also won the league's Clutch Player of the Year award this season. He led the NBA with 175 points in the clutch, as defined by games within five points in the final five minutes of regulation or overtime. He also led the league with 16 go-ahead clutch field goals and in clutch plus-minus (plus-93).
This is the fourth straight season that Gilgeous-Alexander finished in the top five in MVP voting. He finished fifth in 2022-23 and second in 2023-24 before winning the past two seasons.
In that span, Gilgeous-Alexander became the first player since Jordan to average at least 30 points in four consecutive seasons.
As usual, Gilgeous-Alexander was quick to not only thank his teammates but also people throughout the franchise for helping him reach such lofty heights.
"Some of it is just luck," Gilgeous-Alexander said. "As an NBA player, you have no control over other grown men in this business, and I'm just lucky enough to be surrounded by great human beings, from the front office, coaching staff, to the guys that I play on the court with every night. We all want to see the next man win and do whatever it takes ultimately to win. We have that common goal. And yeah, I can't take credit for that.
"It's more than me, it's bigger than me."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.