Thunder guard retains NBA MVP in historic vote

The National Basketball Association announced on Sunday evening that Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been named the Most Valuable Player for the 2025-26 season. The defending champion secured 83 of the 100 first-place votes, retaining the award he won in the previous campaign and finishing ahead of finalists Nikola Jokić and Victor Wembanyama.

Gilgeous-Alexander becomes the 14th player in league history to win back-to-back MVP awards and the 16th to win the honour multiple times. His victory extends a streak of eight consecutive years in which the award has gone to a player born outside the United States. He joins Steve Nash as the only two-time MVP winners from Canada.

The win follows a season where Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder to 64 regular-season wins. He averaged 31.1 points per game, a slight decrease from his previous 32.7, but achieved historic shooting efficiency. He recorded 55.3 per cent from the field, 38.6 per cent from three-point range, and 87.9 per cent from the free-throw line. He is only the second player in NBA history to achieve these percentages on more than 250 total shots, joining Kevin Durant.

The achievement occurred despite a significantly depleted supporting cast. Only two teammates, Cason Wallace and Isaiah Joe, played 70 or more games. Key players including Jalen Williams, Ajay Mitchell, Alex Caruso, and Isaiah Hartenstein missed substantial time due to injury, with Williams playing just 33 diminished games.

In the voting breakdown, Jokić received 10 first-place votes, Wembanyama received five, and Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham received two. Luka Dončić finished fourth in the voting. Gilgeous-Alexander’s efficiency was highlighted by his ability to score nearly one point for every two times he touched the ball, while also recording fewer turnovers and almost twice as many assists as Durant did in his comparable season.