SGA’s name is up there with some all-time greats
The Oklahoma City Thunder took home the NBA Finals for the first time last night, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander capped off his incredible season by being named NBA Finals MVP.
In Game 7, SGA didn’t have his best performance, shooting 8-27 from the floor, but the league MVP got his teammates involved by dishing out 12 assists and was nearly automatic at the free throw line, knocking down 11-12 at the charity stripe on the way to 29 points in the game.
It’ll always be a season to remember for SGA, and by being named Finals MVP in the same season that he was named regular season MVP, the former Wildcat joins some elite company.
SGA is only the 11th player in league history to win both awards in the same season.
The other names on the list? Willis Reed, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Moses Malone, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Hakeem Olajuwon, Shaquille O’Neal, Tim Duncan, and LeBron James, the last player to accomplish this feat in 2012-2013.
That’s pretty good company to be in.
SGA is only the fourth player in league history to lead the league in scoring, win NBA MVP, and win Finals MVP. The only other players to accomplish this feat are Kareem, Jordan, and Shaq.
It’s really cool to see a former Kentucky Wildcat having such great success in the league. We’re proud of you, SGA!