NEW YORK (AFP) — Oklahoma City Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was named Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the 2024-2025 season on Wednesday.

Canadian-born Gilgeous-Alexander pipped Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets to the prize, which considers only performances during the regular season.

Broadcaster TNT said Gilgeous-Alexander won the vote 71-29 over Serbian Jokic, who has won the MVP award three times.

Gilgeous-Alexander, who finished second to Jokic last year, shot almost 52 percent from the field as he led the Thunder to the best record in the league. Oklahoma City won 68 games and set a league record for scoring margin.

“You try so hard throughout the season to not think about it and just worry about playing basketball and getting better and trying to win games,” Gilgeous-Alexander told TNT.

“But as a competitor, as a kid dreaming about the game, it’s always in the back of your mind and I am very grateful to be on this side of the ballot.”

Gilgeous-Alexander led the league with 32.7 points per game and also averaged 6.4 assists and 5.0 rebounds.

He became the first player to lead the league in games with at least 20 points (75), 30 points (49), 40 points (13) and 50 points (four) in a season since James Harden in 2018-19.

Gilgeous-Alexander’s only regular season game with fewer than 20 points was an 18-point performance against the San Antonio Spurs on 30 October 2024.

He scored at least 20 points in each of his final 72 games, the longest streak at any point in a single season since 1963-64.