Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Talks NBA MVP Race, Chet Holmgren and More in B/R Interview

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Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has bigger goals than the MVP.

But he still wants it.

“It’s a surreal feeling,” the Oklahoma City Thunder guard told Bleacher Report when discussing being in the MVP race. “You dream about it as a kid. I certainly have, wanting to be in the NBA my whole life. It’s something that I try not to put too much thought or emphasis on and let the chips fall where they may, but it’s something that I definitely want. If I achieve it and am blessed enough to get the award, I’ll be very happy.”

Gilgeous-Alexander was a first-time All-Star just last season but is now unquestionably one of the best overall players in the league who is averaging 30.5 points, 6.3 assists, 5.6 rebounds and a league-best 2.1 steals a night while shooting 54.1 percent from the field and 36.7 percent from deep.

His quickness off the dribble makes him impossible to stay in front of, but he can also extend his game beyond the three-point arc if given too much space. Combine that with being unstoppable in transition, a willing facilitator when double teams come his way and able to take over in crunch time, and there is nothing he can’t do on the floor.

As a result, he is right in the middle of that MVP race alongside Nikola Jokić, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Luka Dončić.

He is also a primary reason his team has been so dominant this season.

Oklahoma City is 49-21 and just a half-game behind the reigning-champion Denver Nuggets and a half-game ahead of the Minnesota Timberwolves in the battle for the Western Conference’s No. 1 seed.

“We’re super focused on winning games,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “Obviously with the top seed, we’d get home-court advantage the entire time we’re in the West in the playoffs. But for the most part, we’re just focused on taking it day-by-day and winning games. That would be some icing on the cake, for sure.”

That day-by-day focus has allowed the Thunder to avoid prolonged struggles even if there are occasional slips like Sunday’s loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. In fact, they haven’t lost more than two games in a row all season and are well-positioned to notch the franchise’s first playoff-series win since the 2015-16 campaign when Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook were leading the way.

It wasn’t necessarily supposed to be this way, at least so soon.

The playoffs were a realistic goal at the start of the season since Oklahoma City reached the play-in tournament in 2022-23, but much of the narrative surrounding the team was still focused on the future given its collection of upcoming draft picks and young players.

Gilgeous-Alexander is just 25 years old but is something of an elder statesman considering Chet Holmgren is 21 years old, Jalen Williams is 22 years old, Josh Giddey is 21 years old and Luguentz Dort is 24 years old.

But the Thunder aren’t interested in outside opinions that suggest they are still a year or two away from being serious championship contenders.

“We don’t really worry about outside noise at all,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “We don’t pay attention to it, we don’t listen to it. We do a great job of just focusing on what we’re trying to accomplish with every day, every game and every opponent. I think that’s why we’ve had so much success because we’re just focused on getting better and winning games in the moment.”

Winning enough games would allow the Thunder to avoid the No. 3 seed in the West, which is exactly where the guard’s Kentucky Wildcats were seeded in the South Region of the 2024 NCAA men’s tournament when they lost a first-round shocker to Oakland.

While Gilgeous-Alexander’s school is no longer in the Big Dance, he is still involved in March Madness thanks to his partnership with AT&T for the company’s “Connect To The Madness” campaign that also features stars such as Jalen Brunson, Draymond Green, Sabrina Ionescu, Candace Parker, Carmelo Anthony and JuJu Watkins in various commercials that have aired during games.

Gilgeous-Alexander is in the “What A Pro Wants” ad alongside Holmgren, which gave them an opportunity to show off their singing skills.

“It’s been great,” he said of the partnership with AT&T. “Obviously a really big and powerful brand and a brand that I’ve been around for most of my life. You see them everywhere, and their people have been great. It’s been fun.

“They’ve been super collaborative with me. They understand my passions both on and off the court. I can’t wait to keep building the relationship moving forward.”

Teaming up with Holmgren was natural for Gilgeous-Alexander given the on-court chemistry that already exists.

The No. 2 overall pick of the 2022 NBA draft missed what would have been his rookie season with a foot injury but is arguably exceeding the sky-high expectations that were already in place coming into the 2023-24 campaign.

Holmgren has played all 70 games and is averaging 17.0 points, 7.9 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 2.4 blocks a night while shooting 53.6 percent from the field and 38.4 percent from deep. He anchors the interior defense and cleans up mistakes from perimeter defenders all while working in pick-and-pops and extending the floor with his shooting on the other end.

His athleticism at 7’1″ makes him a matchup nightmare for opponents and an ideal running mate for an explosive guard like Gilgeous-Alexander.

“It’s super fun,” Gilgeous-Alexander said of playing alongside Holmgren. “It’s where the NBA has gone today, it’s positionless basketball. Any position can do anything, pass, dribble, shoot. He’s such a versatile player, he brings so much to the game and makes it so much easier for myself and the rest of my teammates.”

While the ultimate test of that easier basketball will come in the playoffs when the Thunder look to parlay their regular-season success into a championship run, the future couldn’t be brighter in Oklahoma City.

And it will likely stay that way as long as Gilgeous-Alexander is running the show.