OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) 鈥� He鈥檚 the best player on the best team. And the voters say he鈥檚 the best player in the league, too.
Again.
of the reigning NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder won the on Sunday for the second consecutive year. He became the 18th player to win at least two MVP awards and the 14th to win them in back-to-back fashion.
鈥淏asketball’s obviously a team sport,鈥� Gilgeous-Alexander said Sunday night in a celebration at the Thunder practice facility, surrounded by teammates 鈥� all in new Burberry trenchcoats, a gift from the now two-time MVP. 鈥淎ll the numbers, all the accolades, everything that I do on the court, if we won 10 games I wouldn’t be in this conversation. So, thank you guys so much. I love you guys.鈥�
The win for Gilgeous-Alexander, who is Canadian, marks the eighth consecutive time that the NBA鈥檚 MVP was born outside the U.S. The run started with Milwaukee鈥檚 Giannis Antetokounmpo (born in Greece, of Nigerian descent) in 2019 and 2020, then Denver鈥檚 Nikola Jokic (Serbia) in 2021 and 2022, Philadelphia鈥檚 Joel Embiid (born in Cameroon but has since become a U.S. citizen) in 2023 and Jokic again in 2024.
And in 2025 and 2026, SGA is the MVP. The coats were just one part of the massive haul of presents Gilgeous-Alexander shared with teammates Sunday; there were personalized golf bags, gift baskets and very pricey watches 鈥� which he handed to each teammate.
鈥淲ho he is has never changed,鈥� Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. 鈥淚 think he鈥檚 touched up the edges on his game and on his leadership and on his perspective, just like anybody else that鈥檚 coming of age.鈥�
and San Antonio鈥檚 star French center Victor Wembanyama placed third.
Gilgeous-Alexander got 83 of a possible 100 first-place votes. Jokic received 10 and Wembanyama got five. Luka Doncic of the Los Angeles Lakers was fourth in the voting and Cade Cunningham of the Detroit Pistons was fifth.
Cunningham got two first-place votes 鈥� the first by a U.S.-born player since 2021.
Jaylen Brown of the Boston Celtics was sixth, and Kawhi Leonard of the Los Angeles Clippers and Donovan Mitchell of the Cleveland Cavaliers tied for seventh with one fifth-place vote apiece.
International players went 1-2-3 in the voting for the fifth straight season.
鈥� Last season the order was Gilgeous-Alexander, Jokic and Antetokounmpo.
鈥� In 2024, it was Jokic, then Gilgeous-Alexander and Doncic (Slovenia) of Slovenia.
鈥� In 2023, it was Embiid, then Jokic, then Antetokounmpo.
鈥� In 2022, it was Jokic, then Embiid, then Antetokounmpo.
鈥淪o many NBA players don’t get opportunity,鈥� Gilgeous-Alexander said. 鈥淲ho knows where I’d be without it.鈥�
Gilgeous-Alexander and Wembanyama will face off Monday night when the Thunder and Spurs open in Oklahoma City. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver is expected at Monday鈥檚 game to formally present Gilgeous-Alexander with a trophy for the third time in 12 months 鈥� the MVP award last May, the NBA Finals MVP award last June, and now this.
Jokic not winning the award continues an odd trend: those who average a triple-double, often thought of as the holy grail of in-game accomplishment, almost never win MVP.
Jokic had the seventh instance of a player finishing a season averaging a triple-double 鈥� at least 10 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds per game 鈥� by putting up 27.7 points, a league-best 12.9 rebounds and a league-best 10.7 assists per game.
It wasn鈥檛 good enough for MVP. Russell Westbrook averaged a triple-double four times and won MVP only once in those years. Oscar Robertson averaged a triple-double in 1961-62; he didn鈥檛 win MVP that season. And now, Jokic has done it twice 鈥� with no MVPs to show for it, though he has won the award on three other occasions.
Gilgeous-Alexander insists that he doesn’t play for individual honors. He plays for team trophies.
鈥淭he way things are run in this organization and this city, it breeds success,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. 鈥淚t’s no coincidence.鈥�
The MVP win is Gilgeous-Alexander鈥檚 second major individual award this season; he was also voted the league鈥檚 by an overwhelming margin 鈥� he got 96 of 100 first-place votes in that balloting, paying tribute to how great his performances tend to be in the final five minutes of close games.
Then again, he鈥檚 pretty good no matter how much time is on the clock.
Gilgeous-Alexander was second in the league with 31.1 points per game, second only to Doncic and his 33.5-point average. He also extended his NBA-record streak of regular season games with at least 20 points to 140 and counting; it鈥檒l carry into next season as well.
He鈥檚 delightfully boring 鈥� one of the few mid-range specialists in the game, someone who excels at drawing fouls, isn鈥檛 a look-at-me type and gives some of the most thoughtful answers of anyone in the league. Emotions aren鈥檛 worth his time; staying calm is always his preferred move.
And he believes in the Thunder way, that the sum of the parts is the only real key to winning.
鈥淪ome of it is just luck,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “As an NBA player, you have no control over other grown men in this business and I鈥檓 just lucky enough to be surrounded by great human beings, from the front office, coaching staff, to the guys that I play on the court with every night. We all want to see the next man win and do whatever it takes ultimately to win. We have that common goal. And yeah, I can鈥檛 take credit for that. It鈥檚 more than me, it鈥檚 bigger than me.鈥�
___
AP NBA:
Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
