Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander won his second consecutive MVP award, with the honor being officially announced on Sunday, a day ahead of his Western Conference Finals matchup against the San Antonio Spurs.
Gilgeous-Alexander is now just the fifth active player to be named the MVP in consecutive seasons, and every retired player to do so has been named to the Hall of Fame.
“It’s special,” Gilgeous-Alexander said of the achievement, according to ESPN. “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.”
The dynamic scorer made sure to credit his teammates and organization.
“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.”
As great as the award is, SGA knows he has a tall task ahead of him in the Western Conference Finals.
“Obviously, a really good team,” he 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.”
About Qwame Skinner
Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.