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Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jalen Williams says his teammate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander continues to strengthen his case for Most Valuable Player following a 130-106 win against the Memphis Grizzlies. After tying his career-high 45 points in a 120-105 win against the Indiana Pacers, Gilgeous-Alexander was praised by head coach Mark Daigneault. Then, he turned in another masterful performance, scoring 35 points on 14-of-19 attempts, which coerced Williams to campaign Gilgeous-Alexander for MVP for his All-Star teammate.
After the win, Williams didn’t hold back in discussing Gilgeous-Alexander’s case for MVP, per The Oklahoman’s Joel Lorenzi.
“Watch the games. It’s pretty obvious. I don’t know how he didn’t get it last year. So, I don’t know what to tell you. I’m there every day. I see it every day. I’m in the game. Just watch the game. Trust your eyes. Watch the s***. That’s a bad man.”
Gilgeous-Alexander also finished with seven assists, six rebounds, four blocks, and one steal for the Thunder. He led seven Thunder players with double figures. Rookie Ajay Mitchell poured in 17 points in 22 minutes, Aaron Wiggins added 16 points, and Kenrich Williams finished with a dozen as the three led the Thunder’s second unit.
Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder extended their winning streak to 11 in a franchise-best 25-6 record through their first 31 games. SGA has scored 22+ points in each of their previous eleven wins, including 40+ point games, topped off by matching his career high in a 120-114 win against the Indiana Pacers.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander earns ‘masterpiece’ from Mark Daigneault
Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault complimented Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s masterpiece of tying his career-high 45 points against the Pacers. Finishing with 45 points, eight assists, seven rebounds, two blocks, and one steal, Gilgeous-Alexander did a little of everything on both ends of the floor.
Daigneault thoroughly enjoyed Gilgeous-Alexander’s approach.
“Everybody seemed to make a big play for us tonight that we really needed on a night where we were playing a very hot opponent,” Daigneault said. “With that said, Shai was outstanding tonight. That was a masterpiece. I mean, he was at his own pace the entire night. I thought he moved it out of the early helps and got his teammates activated, but great blend of passing and attacking, great blend of shooting and attacking. He just had total control of the wheel tonight.”
In 2023-24, Gilgeous-Alexander finished second for MVP, which Thunder forward Jalen Williams considers a slight but is confident his All-Star teammate will earn his first in 2024-25.
