Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has 'Chance to be an MVP'

NBA analyst considers Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as a potential future MVP.

The Oklahoma City Thunder are beginning to gain more and more traction in the national media. On top of those conversations is Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who has recently received comparisons to Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic.

ESPN's Tim Bontemps, who initially made the Gilgeous-Alexander is "as good or better than Luka Doncic" claim doubled down on his appearance on The Hoop Collective. 

"Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the best player in the tournament," Bontemps said of Gilgeous-Alexander in the FIBA World Cup. "I think he's got a chance to be an MVP, especially with Oklahoma City." 

Brian Windhorst, the host of the show, then pointed out that Doncic is in the tournament.

"[Gilgeous-Alexander] was better than Luka last year," Bontemps said. "Either way, he is one of the two best players in the tournament, assuming Giannis [Anetokounmpo] doesn't play. I'm not saying he's way better than Luka, but it's a toss-up, and the fact that it's a toss-up shows how good the guy is."

The comparison of Donic and Gilgeous-Alexander truthfully could go either way and, as mentioned in the past, parameters have to be set on what decided which player is better. 

Looping Gilgeous-Alexander into the Most Valuable Player discussion is quite a crazy take, but not all that far off. He was roped into the top-five conversation for the award this past season while earning his first All-Star selection and earning first-team All-NBA honors. 

Averaging 31.4 points per game on 51 percent is good enough statistically to keep a player in the MVP range of players. If the Thunder is able to jump in wins while Gilgeous-Alexander maintains his scoring efficiency, his case to make a run for the award will be even better.

Having a deep level of young talent that's going to take time and shots away from Gilgeous-Alexander may make things a little bit dicey, but if the jump in wins is significant enough, the narrative could lean in his favor.

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