Over the last two seasons, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has developed into one of the best players in the league. Back-to-back top-five finishes in MVP voting cemented his status.
Gilgeous-Alexander finished runner-up for the 2023-24 MVP award behind Nikola Jokic, who won the trophy for the third time in his career.
The 25-year-old led the Oklahoma City Thunder to the top seed in the Western Conference and a 17-win improvement from last season. In 75 games, he averaged 30.1 points on 53.5% shooting, 6.2 assists and 5.5 rebounds.
Chet Holmgren has enjoyed a front-row seat to Gilgeous-Alexander’s blossom into superstardom since he joined the Thunder in 2022. The Rookie of the Year runner-up talked about his teammate’s graduation to one of the best players in the league.
“There’s so much I can say but everything I can say you guys are witnessing out there too,” Holmgren said. “Special player. Special talent. It’s good to have him in a Thunder uniform with me.”
Gilgeous-Alexander, Holmgren and Jalen William round out arguably the best trio in the league. This is the first of likely several playoff runs by the Thunder led by those three players.
If all three continue to develop at the rate they’ve shown since entering the league, the Thunder are in the infancy stages of another long championship window with the star-wing-big trio.
