Hall of Famer and four-time champion has locked in his pick for this year's MVP: guard . While debating the extremely this season with the NBA on TNT crew, Shaq made his case for the budding Thunder superstar. "The MVP is SGA. Period. I saw something today, he is one of the few guys to have 50 30-point games in a season. He’s the baddest player in the game and their team is 49-21.” - Shaquille O'Neal on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander O'Neal wasn't the only one on the panel who endorsed for MVP. Jamal Crawford also threw in his support for the Hamilton, Ontario native. As Shaq noted, Gilgeous-Alexander recently became in NBA history to notch 50 or more 30-point games in a season. That exclusive group includes the likes of , Wilt Chamberlain, , and , among others. Gilgeous-Alexander with another MVP performance vs. the Pelicans Gilgeous-Alexander didn't quite reach 30 points on Tuesday night, but he did plenty of MVP things down the stretch to lead the Thunder to a big win on the road over the . With OKC down by five with a little over two minutes remaining, Gilgeous-Alexander made a crucial offensive rebound and assist to Jalen Williams to trim the lead to three. After a couple of possessions, he drained a cold-blooded step-back triple to tie the game at 112-apiece with 1:29 to go. Luguentz Dort and Williams made some clutch baskets down the stretch to close out the deal, but SGA's big plays prior put Oklahoma City in prime position to escape Smoothie King Center with the win. Gilgeous-Alexander finished his night with 24 points, four rebounds, and eight assists on 9-of-20 shooting. He made just one triple, but like he has done all season long, it came at a crucial juncture of the game. He also finished with a +14 in 38 minutes. Gilgeous-Alexander's case for MVP There is no denying superstar is having another MVP worthy season, while the likes of of the and of the have made their respective cases as well. But Gilgeous-Alexander has certainly made a strong bid for himself. Not only is he putting up MVP numbers and achieving historic records, but the way he has led the Thunder to an incredible jump from last season is perhaps his best argument for winning the Michael Jordan trophy this year. Gilgeous-Alexander has established himself as one of the most dangerous offensive forces in the NBA. And he gets his points in a myriad of ways — from his effective and methodical drives to the basket, to his smooth mid-range pull-ups, and efficient
shooting from beyond the arc. He leads the NBA in drive points per game at 16.9 and is 5th in pullup points at 10.6 per contest. In addition, he also leads the NBA in total unassisted points. Apart from his all-around offense, SGA has also made a huge impact defensively for the Thunder. His 2.1 steals per game leads the NBA. Likewise, he also has the in the league with 247 on the season so far. In addition, SGA is also No. 3 in total contested three-pointers this season with 227, and he is also in the top 10 in loose balls recovered. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Defensive Stats Category Stat Rank SPG 2.1 1st Total steals 147 1st Total deflections 247 1st Total contested 3-pointers 227 3rd Loose balls recovered 64 9th Despite his stellar impact on both ends of the floor, he still trails Jokić on the NBA's latest edition of the . But if he ends up leading Oklahoma City to the top seed in the Western Conference, while continuing to put up these stellar numbers, voters might just be swayed to go with the new kid on the block for this season's NBA MVP.