Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been named the NBA’s Most Valuable Player for the second straight year, it has been revealed.
According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, Gilgeous-Alexander, 27, has become the 14th player in league history to win back-to-back MVP awards after scooping the 2026 prize.
The Canadian guard has enjoyed another terrific season for reigning NBA champions Oklahoma, who kick off the Western Conference finals against the San Antonio Spurs on Monday night.
Gilgeous-Alexander has scored the second-most points per game in the league this season at 31.1, trailing only to Los Angeles Lakers superstar Luka Doncic, while averaging the 42nd-most touches per game at 66.6 – meaning he nearly scored one point for every two touches of the ball.
He also closed the season shooting 55.3 percent from the floor, 38.6 percent on 3-pointers and 87.9 percent on free throws, with only Kevin Durant (2022-23) achieving those shooting percentages on more than 250 total shots in NBA history.
Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been named the NBA MVP again
Gilgeous-Alexander has enjoyed another terrific season for NBA champions Oklahoma City
The reigning MVP was one of three finalists for the MVP award this season, along with Spurs center Victor Wembanyama and Denver’s Nikola Jokic.
No matter who won, it was already set to mark the eighth consecutive season in which a player who was born outside the US took home the trophy.
It will be the 12th MVP award overall for an international player. Before this current run, Nigeria’s Hakeem Olajuwon won in 1994, Canada’s Steve Nash won in 2005 and 2006, and Germany’s Dirk Nowitzki won in 2007.
Wembanyama would have been the first French player to win MVP, while Jokic was seeking a fourth award – something only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (six), Michael Jordan (five), Bill Russell (five), Wilt Chamberlain (four) and LeBron James (four) have done.
The scheduling of the MVP announcement was already a hint that Gilgeous-Alexander might be the winner, as it would have the same time-frame that the reveal followed a year ago.
In 2025, the Thunder sensation was announced as the winner on May 21, and he was formally presented with the trophy before Game 2 of the West finals in Oklahoma City on May 22.
This year, the Sunday announcement comes a day before the Thunder plays host to Game 1 of the West finals against the Spurs on Monday night.
