What the Brooklyn Nets Can Learn from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s MVP Season

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been crowned king of the 2024-25 regular season, ESPN's Shams Charania reported on Wednesday. Amid a conference final battle against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Gilgeous-Alexander was revealed as this year's Most Valuable Player.

Coming off a dominant regular season in which he averaged 32.7 points, 6.4 assists and five rebounds per game, Gilgeous-Alexander's rise to MVP status is one the Brooklyn Nets can learn from.

Not that long ago, Oklahoma City was in the exact same position Brooklyn is in now: young and stacked with picks, but in need of a franchise face. Luckily for the Thunder, one player emerged from a roster full of inexperienced talent—a 20-year-old Kentucky product.

But that Kentucky product wasn't heavily targeted by Oklahoma City in the 2018 NBA Draft, he was acquired in a deal that shipped a superstar, Paul George, to the LA Clippers to create one of the best duos leaguewide. Could Thunder GM Sam Presti just have been extremely fortunate to know Gilgeous-Alexander would blossom into a perennial-MVP candidate? Perhaps, but the issue with that logic is the Thunder aren't the only ones to follow this blueprint.

The Eastern Conference Finals representatives—the New York Knicks and Indiana Pacers—are also led by superstar guards, neither of which began their careers with their current squads. Tyrese Haliburton was swapped for Domantas Sabonis, and Jalen Brunson was brought in through free agency.

Coincidence? Maybe. Or, maybe this philosphy of adding an external high-potential guard has replaced the 2010s "superteam" era.

Now, back to Brooklyn. One could argue the Nets already have their version of Gilgeous-Alexander/Haliburton/Brunson in Cam Thomas. Thomas is still just 23 years old and already one of the best isolation scorers in the NBA. Injuries and a lack of focus on an all-around game have prevented him from gaining more respect around the league, but he absolutely has the ability to do so.

This past season was meant to be Thomas' breakout year as Brooklyn's primary scorer, but injuries hindered his first year under HC Jordi Fernandez. With the right development, Thomas can elevate himself from just a crafty scorer to one of the most exciting guards in the East.

If Fernandez and Nets management don't believe Thomas' ceiling is that high, then they should start working the phones. Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves would be a fantastic piece to look at in an attempt to follow this formula.

Reaves is 26—slightly older than Gilgeous-Alexander and Haliburton but around the same age that Brunson's breakout occurred—and just averaged over 20 points per night as the Lakers' third option. He's also on an incredibly-friendly contract, due just under $14 million next year. That's the kind of guy you look for if the Thunder, Pacers and Knicks' blueprint is one the Nets want to follow.

And considering those teams make up three of the four finalists for this season's NBA title, attempting to replicate their success may not be a bad idea.