The Oklahoma City Thunder added another win to their record in the 2024-25 NBA season. On Sunday, the Thunder had a 127-103 win over the Denver Nuggets, thanks to the offensive display of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The star guard led the team with his 40 points, eight rebounds and five assists on 46.9% shooting from the field. This came after the historic performance of Nuggets star Nikola Jokic.
On Friday, the three-time MVP led Denver to a 149-141 win over the Phoenix Suns. Jokic had 31 points, 21 rebounds, 22 assists and three steals. Not long after, SGA had his response with an offensive masterclass.
Jokic and SGA are the top two favorite players to win the MVP award. In the latest update for the prestigious award, the Thunder star is at number one, averaging 32.8 points, 5.1 rebounds and 6.2 assists. The Nuggets center is second, averaging 28.8 points, 12.8 rebounds and 10.4 assists.
Gilgeous-Alexander came out victorious in their third meeting of the season. After the game, he was asked about his mentality about winning the MVP award. According to the star guard, he’s more focused in winning more games with his team rather than the individual award.
“Get a win. That’s what it’s all about for me,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “I love MVPs, I love All-Stars, I love all the accolades that comes with it but none of it matters if you don’t win and that’s where I hang my hat and I’m pleased with the outcome tonight because we won,” SGA said.
"I love MVPs, I love All-Stars. … None of it matters if you don't win."
SGA has one thing in mind 🏆 pic.twitter.com/hEkx28JOZo
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) March 9, 2025
The Thunder has the upper hand in their regular season series against the Nuggets. So far, they’ve played three games against each other and OKC has won two games. Their fourth and final game will be on Monday, and SGA and his crew will look to come away win a win.
Jokic’s historic game shouldn’t change the MVP narrative for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, according to Stephen A. Smith
The narrative about the MVP changed after Jokic’s historic triple-double game. However, ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith doesn’t believe that it should affect Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s case to win the award.
“You’re not doing that today. You’re not doing that today, Big Perk. I’m telling you that right now. We’re not going to do this today. Jokic is big time. The top-five argument? I’m not disagreeing with it. I get all of that. But we ain’t doing that today,” Smith said.
“We ain’t gonna do this. Oklahoma City is the number one seed. Everybody’s looking up—way up. You got to climb a ladder. We’re not doing this to SGA. SGA is gonna be the league MVP if he keeps this up. I don’t care what Jokic does.”
The video:
"I don't care what Jokic does" https://t.co/lSboBW84L7 pic.twitter.com/RGRnYliaoy
— n i k o l a e s t h e t i c (@nikolaesthetic) March 9, 2025
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Reign also writes NBA and WNBA news updates on Sportskeeda. He started as a feature writer for AirAlamo, an NBA website that covers the San Antonio Spurs. Some of his work can also be seen on Valley of the Suns, a Phoenix Suns-centric website, where he served as a contributing writer.
