Shai Gilgeous-Alexander closed the 2025-26 season as more than a superstar. He became the engine behind the NBA’s best team, averaging 31.1 points, 6.6 assists and 4.3 rebounds while shooting 55.3 percent from the field. That production earned him a second straight Kia MVP award, making him the 14th player in league history to win it in consecutive seasons.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Turns Every Possession Into A Problem
Opponents feel his gravity before he even touches the ball. NBA.com credited him with the league’s highest perimeter off-ball gravity at 20.1, and he added 14.0 points per game on drives while shooting 59.2 percent on those plays. Chet Holmgren backed him with 17.1 points, 8.9 rebounds and 1.9 blocks, plus All-NBA Third Team and All-Defensive honors, while Jalen Williams added 17.1 points and 5.5 assists across 33 games.
Gilgeous-Alexander owns crunch time too. He led the league with 175 clutch points, shooting 51.5 percent over 125.1 clutch minutes to win Clutch Player of the Year. Oklahoma City posted a 124.5 offensive rating and a plus 23.8 net rating in those late-game situations, which explains why opponents rarely find a lead safe against the Thunder.
A Spurs Series That Tested Every Answer
The Oklahoma City Thunder finished the regular season 64-18 with the league’s best net rating and the NBA’s top defensive rating at 106.5. The Thunder swept the Phoenix Suns behind 33.8 points a game from Gilgeous-Alexander, then swept the Los Angeles Lakers as Holmgren stepped up with 20.0 points and 9.8 rebounds a night.
The Spurs provided the real test. San Antonio held Oklahoma City to its worst offensive mark of the past three postseasons before winning Game 7 111-103 to reach the NBA Finals. Gilgeous-Alexander scored 35 points in the loss anyway, and his career-high 6.6 assists and 38.6 percent three-point shooting show he keeps adding layers to his game.
That series exposed a real weakness, but it also proved Oklahoma City can push a loaded Spurs roster to the brink. With Gilgeous-Alexander improving every year and a young core built for the postseason, the Thunder enter next season looking like the team the rest of the NBA has to catch.
