Gilgeous-Alexander is the MVP partly because he had a stellar 2024-25 season. He was the league scoring champ, did so at high efficiency, ranked among the steals leaders and collected an enviable amount of blocked shots for a point guard. Those were his qualifications and they proved his impact at both ends of the floor.

Being a surprise contributor, Tony Bradley provided the Indiana Pacers with some great depth in their Eastern Conference Finals win over the New York Knicks. The backup center had quite a long journey to reach this point.

Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has not had a typical rise to MVP status. Yet those who’ve been around the guard are hardly surprised by his individual success.