Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has won the Kia NBA Most Valuable Player award for the second year in a row.
The league announced on Sunday that the Canadian guard won 83 first-place votes to secure the trophy.
Gilgeous-Alexander led the reigning champion Thunder to a dominant 64-18 regular-season record.
He played 68 games averaging an incredible 31.1 points and 6.6 assists per game while shooting a career-high 55.3% from the field.
He is the 14th player in NBA history to win back-to-back MVPs beating out runner-up Nikola Jokic and third-place Victor Wembanyama.
Reacting to the big win, Gilgeous-Alexander immediately credited his team.
“These guys go to war for me every night, not only on the court but off the court. We have so much fun together,” he said.
He added that while the NBA can feel like a job, his teammates “really make it seem just fun and what it was like when I picked up basketball at a young age.”
Praising his star player’s growth, Thunder coach Mark Daigneault noted, “Who he is has never changed. I think he’s touched up the edges on his game.”
