Honestly, if you were watching the Oklahoma City Thunder this year, you saw it coming. The debate felt endless. For months, everyone was looking at the spreadsheets of Nikola Jokić and wondering if the "voter fatigue" monster would finally rear its head or if the Serbian big man was simply too statistically dominant to ignore. But on Wednesday, May 21, 2025, the league made it official. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is your NBA MVP 2025 winner.
It wasn't a blowout. Not even close.
SGA ended up with 913 total points, just barely edging out Jokić, who finished with 787. When the final tally dropped, it revealed one of the tightest races we’ve seen in the modern era of the Michael Jordan Trophy. Shai grabbed 71 first-place votes, while Jokić pulled in 29. The rest of the field? Basically left in the dust. Giannis Antetokounmpo took the third spot with 470 points, and Jayson Tatum rounded out the top tier in fourth.
The Case for Shai: More Than Just a Scoring Title
So, how did a 26-year-old from Toronto actually pull this off against a three-time winner?
It came down to a mix of historic efficiency and the fact that OKC didn't just win—they decimated people. Shai led the league in scoring, putting up 32.7 points per game. That’s impressive on its own, but he did it while shooting nearly 52% from the floor. He joined Michael Jordan and George Gervin as the only guards to ever average 32 on 50% shooting. That is elite company.
He also broke an NBA record by scoring 20 or more points in 72 straight games. Think about that. Every single night for nearly the entire season, he was a guaranteed bucket.
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The Thunder finished with a 68-14 record. That’s the fifth-best regular season in the history of the NBA. They had a points differential of +12.6, which is actually the best in the league's 79-year history. You can’t ignore those kinds of numbers when you're the engine of the team. While Jokić had the "triple-double" narrative—and he was spectacular, averaging nearly 30, 13, and 10—the voters clearly valued Shai's two-way impact and the sheer dominance of the Thunder.
The Full 2025 MVP Voting Breakdown
If you want to see exactly how the media panel split their picks, here is the raw data from the top of the ballot.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (OKC) finished first with 71 first-place votes and 29 second-place votes. Interestingly, nobody left him off the top two spots. Nikola Jokić (Denver) was the inverse, taking 29 first-place votes and 71 second-place votes.
Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee) sat firmly in third, though he didn't receive a single first or second-place vote. He was the consensus third-place guy with 88 votes at that position. Jayson Tatum (Boston) followed him, and Donovan Mitchell (Cleveland) managed to sneak into the top five after a massive year with the Cavs.
Other guys who picked up a few stray votes included LeBron James—still doing it at 40, which is insane—Cade Cunningham, and Anthony Edwards.
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Why This Win Feels Different
This wasn't just another trophy for the mantle. Shai is the first Kentucky Wildcat to ever win the NBA MVP. It also marks the seventh year in a row that an international player has taken the award. The "American MVP" drought continues, but it's hard to argue with the results when the talent coming from Canada, Serbia, and Greece is this overwhelming.
There’s also the "Clutch" factor. While Jalen Brunson took home the actual Clutch Player of the Year award, Shai’s presence in the fourth quarter was a nightmare for opposing coaches. He led the league in points per 100 possessions. Basically, if the game was within five points, Shai was getting to the line or hitting a step-back mid-range jumper.
The "Robbery" Debate: Did Jokić Get Snubbed?
You’ll hear a lot of Denver fans crying foul. Jokić became the first player ever to rank in the top three for points, rebounds, assists, and steals in the same season. On paper, that looks like an undisputed MVP. He even had a 30-20-20 game against the Suns in March.
But the Thunder won 18 more games than the Nuggets.
In the NBA, winning still matters more than almost anything else. The Nuggets finished 50-32, which is a great season, but they looked human at times. The Thunder looked like a machine. Shai’s plus-minus for the season was +918. That is the largest margin over the second-place player in the history of the tracking stat. When he was on the court, OKC was playing basketball on a different planet.
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What’s Next for the MVP?
Winning the regular season MVP is great, but the real test is the hardware that comes in June. As of the announcement, Shai has the Thunder up 1-0 in the Western Conference Finals against the Timberwolves. He’s already being talked about as the favorite for Finals MVP if OKC can finish the job.
If you're looking to track how this win affects his legacy, keep an eye on these milestones:
- Shai is now eligible for a massive supermax extension that could dwarf current contracts.
- He is the face of a "Young Core" that has more draft picks than they know what to do with.
- He has officially transitioned from "rising star" to "the guy" in the NBA hierarchy.
The 2024-25 season will be remembered as the year the "Next Gen" finally took over the league for good. With Shai at the helm, the Thunder aren't just a fun story anymore. They’re the standard.
Check the latest playoff box scores to see if the MVP can maintain this 32-point average against the stifling defense of Minnesota—it's the only way he'll silence the remaining Jokić loyalists.
Actionable Insight: If you’re following NBA awards for betting or historical tracking, keep a close watch on the All-NBA First Team announcements next week. Shai and Jokić are locks, but the battle for the final forward spot between Tatum and Giannis will determine how much weight voters actually put on team record versus individual stats.