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Hamilton Heights alum Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is NBA MVP

AP photo by Nate Billings / Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander signs autographs before Tuesday's playoff game against the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves.
AP photo by Nate Billings / Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander signs autographs before Tuesday's playoff game against the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves. AP photo by Nate Billings / Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander signs autographs before Tuesday's playoff game against the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves.

By The Associated Press 7 min read

The case for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was simple: The Oklahoma City Thunder guard is the best player on the team that had the best record during the NBA’s 2024-25 regular season and set a league mark for margin of victory.

If that wasn’t enough, he also won the scoring title.

That’s an MVP year.

Gilgeous-Alexander was announced Wednesday night as the NBA MVP, the 26-year-old Toronto native’s first time winning the award. It’s now seven straight years that a player born outside the United States has been voted MVP, extending the longest such streak in league history.

And when it happened, Gilgeous-Alexander said a life of moments — getting cut, being traded, feeling overlooked, celebrating the wins, enjoying the good times — all flooded into his mind.