The Thunder superstar has a lot going for him in the MVP race, nothing better than OKC's finish in the Western Conference.

(Want Sellout Crowd content sent directly to your inbox? Subscribe to our newsletters here.)

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander remained leaned back in his chair, head cocked to the side, eyes obscured by sunglasses as he considered the question.

Where does he fit into the MVP race?

“Yeah,” he started, then stopped Sunday afternoon.

Going at his own pace, on or off the court, is one of his trademarks.

“I hope I get it, yes,” he said after a moment. “I think all the guys are deserving, all have their case. Whatever happens happens. Whoever gets it is deserving for sure.”

Of that, there is no doubt. The leaders for NBA most valuable player are splendid talents who’ve had superb seasons. Nikola Jokic continues to defy logic with the crafty, physical way he plays in Denver. Luka Doncic brought together a roster rearranged at the trade deadline with a stat-sheet-busting season. And we have borne nightly witness to SGA’s greatness.

Any would make a worthy MVP. Voting for NBA awards closes Friday, with announcements expected to start next week.

But with Sunday’s regular-season finale, the MVP case for SGA became stronger than ever. His top-line argument comes down to three little words.

No. 1 seed.

Oklahoma City finished as the top seed in the punishing Western Conference. The Thunder bested the defending champion Nuggets and the hard-charging Timberwolves, not to mention the Clippers, Mavs, Suns, Pelicans, Lakers, Kings and Warriors.

Standing atop the West is like summiting Mount Everest while fighting off ninjas.

The Thunder, for all the wonderful teams it has had over the years, had only finished as the West’s No. 1 seed once before. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook and that bunch did it in 2012-13, a year after making the NBA Finals. They were well into their run of dominance.

This iteration of the Thunder? It went from no playoff appearances to No. 1 seed. From 24 wins two seasons ago to 57 wins this season. From a 16-game improvement last season to a 17-game improvement this season, consecutive leaps the likes of which the NBA has only seen from three other teams in its history. From rebuilding to rebuilt seemingly overnight.

And Gilgeous-Alexander is the main reason.

“I think his consistency, his poise, his confidence has had an unbelievable contagious effect on one of the youngest teams in the league, one of the youngest teams in history to accomplish when this team accomplished,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “It takes 18 guys to do that. Eighteen guys contributed to that. But when you look at what he did this year, what seeds he planted in previous years, there’s no one I’d rather have on our team than him.”

Let’s unpack some of that.

First, the youth of this team. Daigneault is usually the first person to poo-poo the average age of this roster, not wanting to use it as a crutch or an excuse. But the reality remains: the Thunder has the second-youngest team in the NBA and the youngest team in NBA history to secure a No. 1 seed.

Average age: 23.9.

The starters and top reserves average even younger.

But the Thunder plays way more maturely than its age would suggest, and that starts with Gilgeous-Alexander. His personality permeates the team. Being focused? Playing hard? Staying cool? Not arguing a bunch of calls? 

SGA sets those standards.

And he does it on both ends of the court.

He averaged 30.1 points, one of only three players in the league to finish above that 30-point benchmark. And he did it with off-the-charts efficiency for a guard.

SGA shot a career-best 53.5% from the floor, including 35.3% from behind the arc. 

For the advanced-stat crowd, his effective field-goal percentage, which adjusts to account for 3-pointers being a higher value than 2-pointers, was 56.7%. 

Doncic, a fellow point guard, was only a bit better at 57.3%.

On the defensive end, Gilgeous-Alexander continued to build a strong reputation not necessarily as a lockdown defender but as an extremely capable disruptor. He finished tied with DeAaron Fox for the league lead in steals, for example. Both averaged 2.0 swipes a game.

SGA also averaged 0.9 blocks a game. That was the highest average this season in the league by a point guard, and it was tied with Jokic. He’s only about five inches taller and about 90 pounds heavier than Gilgeous-Alexander.

“We’re a top-five defense, top-five offense,” Daigneault said. “He’s a two-end player that contributes to both of those things.”

As good as Gilgeous-Alexander was a season ago in a breakout year that saw him be named first-team All-NBA, he was better this season. He was one of only three players to average at least 30 points, five rebounds and five assists, the other two being Luka and Giannis.

And lest there was any question about SGA’s importance to OKC, he was sidelined by a quad contusion for six games in late March and early April and the difference was obvious. Yes, Jalen Williams was sidelined by an ankle injury for several of those games, too, but Oklahoma City missed its North Star.

The stats tell the difference. In four of six games without Gilgeous-Alexander, opponents scored more than the 112-point average the Thunder allowed this season while in three of those games, the Thunder fell below its 120-point average.  

There’ll be plenty of time to dissect the Thunder’s playoff opponents. Sunday was for celebrating what they’ve already accomplished this season.

More from @JenniCarlson_OK: ➡️ https://t.co/jFNMP77Sx6

Presented by Next Generation Roofing. pic.twitter.com/vmR10qKWZv

— Sellout Crowd (@selloutcrowd_) April 15, 2024

But really, all you needed was the eye test. The Thunder just wasn’t itself without Gilgeous-Alexander.

That’s a reality no one in Thunder Nation wanted to live with for long.

Take SGA off this roster, and there’s no chance the Thunder is the No. 1 seed in the West. Take Jokic off the Nuggets, and they’d still be a stout team with Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr. and Aaron Gordon. Pull Doncic from the Mavs, and Kyrie Irving, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Co. would still win their share of ball games.

But OKC without SGA?

The Thunder might have found a way to be a play-in team, but it’d more likely find itself in Rockets and Jazz territory. A rebuilding team still a few seasons and a superstar or two away from contending.

Instead, it’s the No. 1 seed in the West.

That is SGA’s best argument for MVP, especially since the V stands for valuable.

“I have great respect for everybody,” Daigneault said when asked about the MVP race. “I’m not a voter. I don’t study all the players. I do see one of them every single night. 

“There is not a night where I don’t feel like we have the best player on the floor.”