The Oklahoma City Thunder reached 60 wins on the season on Monday after beating the Detroit Pistons 114-110 in overtime, a matchup pitting the best team from each conference, led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Now holding a 60-16 record with six games left, the Thunder are set to enter the playoffs with the best record in the NBA and home court advantage through the Finals, if they get there.
That success and his own performances have placed Gilgeous-Alexander firmly in the MVP discussion after he already won the award last season, and especially following another high-scoring performance against the best-possible opponent.
Just days after Victor Wembanyamapublicly outlined his case for the award, Gilgeous-Alexander was asked where he stands in the race.
© Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images
“I think it’s good for the league. I think it’s good chatter,” Gilgeous-Alexander said about the MVP discussion. “It gives people something to talk about. There’s a lot of good players in this league and a lot of guys in the conversation because of that.”
After scoring 47 points on the Pistons, his second-highest tally this season, he declined to go further and refused to make a case for why he deserves to be named MVP once again.
“No, I’m good. Thanks for asking, though,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “Yeah, I’m good. I let my game do the talking.”
Gilgeous-Alexander's production actually supports his words. He is averaging 31.6 points per game while shooting a career-best 55.3 percent from the field. On top of that, he's averaging a career-best 6.5 assists per game, as well as a sky-high 8.3 free-throw makes per contest.
Against Detroit, Gilgeous-Alexander finished 12-of-19 from the floor and 21-of-25 from the free-throw line.
The Thunder lead the Western Conference by 2.5 games over the San Antonio Spurs, and will return to action to face the surging Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday, with tip-off set for 9:30 p.m. ET.
