Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Holds +2100 Odds to Win All-Star Game MVP

With the Rising Stars tournament being completed, the Oklahoma City Thunder have only one more participant in any event. Because Isaiah Joe wasn’t selected for the 3-point contest, we will next see a Thunder representative when Shai Gilgeous-Alexander makes his All-Star game debut off the bench.

Now, when it comes to the All-Star MVP award, it often goes to the player who scored the most points – or had the biggest impact – on the winning team. Sometimes the player who shows out is the player selected from the team hosting the All-Star game. So, this year, that player is Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen.

However, according to FanDuel, Markkanen has even less odds of winning the award than Gilgeous-Alexander. Markkanen is at +2900, whereas Gilgeous-Alexander is at +2100 to win the award.

Now, coming off the bench, Gilgeous-Alexander is going to have to make a very quick impact to lobby for more and more minutes so he’s able to win the award. Playing plenty of minutes is crucial to winning the award so he will have enough time to make a big enough impact.

Another hurdle for Gilgeous-Alexander is going to be providing the ‘wow’ factor. He’s not going to bring huge tomahawk dunks, though he’s shown his dunking capability this season more than season’s past.

Even at the start of the game, both teams will be settling for 3-pointers and fastbreak dunks, neither of which Gilgeous-Alexander is going to try to do.

Where the 6-foot-6 All-Star will find the most success is the second half when the two teams play tighter defense and both teams do their best to get to the rim and find good looks. Gilgeous-Alexander will make defenders look silly when he dices his way into the lane, and that will be where he scores the majority of his points. Don’t expect to see too many of his trademark mid-range step back jumpers.

Want to join the discussion? Like SI Thunder on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest Thunder news. You can also meet the team behind the coverage.

Add us as a preferred source on Google