Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Is, Unbelievably, Kentucky's First NBA MVP

The Wildcats made long-awaited history Wednesday.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander reacts after a call against the Timberwolves. / Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

Here are eight colleges that won an NBA MVP award before Kentucky: Holy Cross, San Francisco, Massachusetts, Indiana State, Navy, Louisiana Tech, Davidson and Arizona State.

It seems hard to grasp, given Kentucky's overwhelming success in men’s basketball since the early days of the sport, that the school had never had an NBA MVP before Wednesday. But that is the truth—or it was, until the streak was broken by Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

Gilgeous-Alexander was named the MVP of the NBA Wednesday, becoming the first Kentucky player ever to win the award. He played in Lexington in 2018, garnering All-SEC, All-SEC tournament and SEC All-Freshman honors along with a conference tournament MVP award.

WILDCAT HISTORY FOR SGA 🏆

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the first @KentuckyMBB player to win MVP in the NBA 😼 pic.twitter.com/AA2vrCsOsJ

— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) May 21, 2025

Kentucky has had a litany of NBA All-Stars, but none have ever been quite good enough to snag the league's highest individual honor. Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker finished fourth in 2022, then-New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis finished third in 2018, and Kentucky Colonels forward Dan Issel was the ABA MVP runner-up in 1972.

However, none have ever quite scaled the heights of Gilgeous-Alexander, who has added a surprisingly new feather to his program's collective cap.

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