Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was named Kia NBA Most Valuable Player for the second straight season on Sunday in Oklahoma City, becoming the first Canadian to win back‑to‑back MVPs and extending the league's US-born MVP drought to eight consecutive years.
The news came after a two-year stretch in which Gilgeous-Alexander, known universally as SGA, has gone from rising star to the undisputed focal point of the Oklahoma City Thunder's title defence. Last June he walked away with the NBA Finals MVP after leading the Thunder to the championship. Now, with another regular-season MVP in hand and the Western Conference Finals about to begin, the 27‑year‑old finds himself at the centre of a wider shift in the league's balance of power towards international talent.
