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Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had a career-best night Wednesday as he scored 54 points alongside eight rebounds, five assists, three steals and two blocks. It was Gilgeous-Alexander’s first career 50-point game and the ninth in Oklahoma City Thunder history. Aside from him, only Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook have scored 50 points in a single game in franchise history.
Gilgeous-Alexander was already solidly in the race for the NBA’s Most Valuable Player award, sitting atop the league’s most recent MVP ladder. However, the performance Wednesday night solidified his standing and had many thinking the same thing: MVP.
“I just tried to be aggressive, make the right basketball play,” Gilgeous-Alexander said postgame on FanDuel Sports Network. “And if I’m there just trust the work. No different from any other night, I had a few more points tonight but nothing special.”
While he was humble after dropping a 50-piece for the first time and willing the Thunder to a win over the Utah Jazz, the NBA world pleaded Gilgeous-Alexander’s MVP case for him:
SHAI TONIGHT:
54 POINTS (CAREER-HIGH)8 REBOUNDS5 ASSISTS17/35 FG17/18 FT
MVP… MVP… MVP 🔥 pic.twitter.com/fS0xhvFGqj
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) January 23, 2025
Just give Shai the MVP right now…
— Overtime (@overtime) January 23, 2025
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander tonight
54 PTS8 REB5 AST2 STL2 BLK
MVP. pic.twitter.com/kyLazrLMvS
— Brandon Rahbar (@BrandonRahbar) January 23, 2025
Here is your MVP. Everyone else is just battling it out for All-NBA & the other awards at this point.
— Adam (@AdamJoseph____) January 23, 2025
Shai drops a career high 54/8/5/2/2 to build the MVP case
J Dub takes over late with 25/3/2/2 and should be an all star
Caso has 13 with 3 steals
Caruso racks up 5 steals
Wiggs adds 10
Carlson hits two threes
The Thunder move to 36-7pic.twitter.com/ni7GkwytSg
— 𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒆 🌩 (@Three_Cone) January 23, 2025
Shai MVP for sure this year…
— Ball Don’t Stop (@balldontstop) January 23, 2025
Look at Shai Gilgeous Alexander being the MVP of the NBA.
— Ahmed/The Ears/IG: BigBizTheGod 🇸🇴 (@big_business_) January 23, 2025
The Thunder advanced to 36-7 with the win Wednesday, which is the best record in the Western Conference and tied for the best in the NBA with the Cleveland Cavaliers. On the season, Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 31.5 points, 6.1 assists and 5.3 rebounds per game. He’s tied with Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo for the best scoring average in the league. And Gilgeous-Alexander helped himself in that race Wednesday night, too.
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