Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Sits Atop NBA MVP Ladder

The Oklahoma City Thunder have seen superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander land atop the NBA MVP ladder. The Thunder star dethrones the former award winners for the first time this season. Can he hold off Nikola Jokic?

Jan 8, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) reacts during the second half against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images | Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

The NBA announced its latest Kia NBA MVP ladder. Taking part on the official league website, it is a good gage of how the Most Valuable Player award conversation is going and a real-time tracker for the swings in emotion with this award.

In this weeks edition, Oklahoma City Thunder superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finally flipped the results, jumping to the no. 1 spot for the first time in his career. The Thunder star is ahead of Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Victor Wembanyama and Jayson Tatum, who round out the top-five.

In the article, NBA writer Shaun Powell laid out the case for Gilgeous-Alexander to take hold of the top spot and win the NBA MVP honor.

"What a remarkable past few weeks, past month and season for Gilgeous-Alexander. He came close to beating both the defending champion Celtics and East-leading Cavaliers this past week. Both games were thrillers and he played very well," Powell Said. "There’s nothing more Gilgeous-Alexander could do to overtake Jokić than that. If anything, the gauntlet has been thrown and the bigger question is whether Gilgeous-Alexander can fend off Jokić, who will not go quietly, from this point forward. This race will be fascinating to watch, and fun, too."

The Oklahoma City Thunder have an interesting week ahead, with a rematch against the New York Knicks in the historic Garden and games against Washington and Philadelphia before looking for revenge against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

There are plenty of statement games available for the Thunder star to post the production required to keep that top spot.

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