Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of Toronto, Ontario became the second Canadian ever to be named the most valuable player of the 2024-25 National Basketball Association season. Gilgeous-Alexander beat out finalists Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks and Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets.
Gilgeous-Alexander follows in the footsteps of Phoenix Suns point guard Steve Nash of Victoria, British Columbia, who received the honour twice. The first time came in 2004-05, and the second came in 2005-06.
This season, Gilgeous-Alexander led the NBA in points per game (32.7), free throws made per game (7.9), total points (2484), total field goals made (860), and total free throws made (601). Gilgeous-Alexander also averaged five rebounds per game, 6.4 assists per game, 1.7 steals per game, and one block per game. He had a field goal percentage of .519, three point percentage of .375, and free throw percentage of .898.
More importantly, Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder to an excellent regular season when it came to the most important team statistic–victories. The Thunder had the best regular season record in the NBA this season. At 68 wins and 14 losses, they had a winning percentage of .829. They had four more regular season wins than the second place Cleveland Cavaliers, who were in second place at 64 wins and 18 losses.