Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ‘still can’t wrap his head around’ rare LeBron James and Michael Jordan company that not even Steph Curry is part of 

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander managed to break the OKC Thunder’s curse. He joined the likes of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Jordan (x2), and Shaquille O’Neal as the only four players in NBA history to win the Scoring Title, MVP and Finals MVP in the very same season.

It takes a special type of talent to do so, but if you ask him, it’s all about hard work.

“It’s hard for me to even get my head around,” Gilgeous-Alexander said on Monday’s edition of “Good Morning America.” “But it just goes to show that when you play hard, when you focus on the right things, when you take care of the right things, and you stick with that program for a certain amount of time, you can achieve anything.”

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The Canadian combo guard just capped off one of the most dominant and impressive seasons in NBA history. He led the league with a whopping 32.7 points per game on 51.9% from the floor, adding 6.4 assists, 5.0 rebounds, 1.7 steals. and 1.0 blocks per game to run away with MVP honors.

Then, he kept things going in the playoffs and took things up a notch in the NBA Finals, averaging 30.3 points, 5.6 assists, and 4.6 rebounds per game to also secure the Finals MVP award.

For the first time since they relocated, the Thunder are NBA champions. They didn't do so with Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and/or James Harden.

Alex Caruso says Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the face of the NBA

The best thing about Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder is that they're just getting started. He's just 26 years old and has already put up Hall of Fame credentials.

According to Alex Caruso, Gilgeous-Alexander has now established himself as the new face of the league, and as such, he's going to keep pushing to make sure this isn't his only championship:

“As far as face of the league and best player on best team, he's got that capability,” Caruso said. “I think the thing that sets him apart is he'll probably be hungry for more. He probably won't be satisfied with just winning this one time. He'll want to do it again, he'll want to be better, he'll want to see how he can tweak and maneuver his game to better fit and take advantage of the way people guard him.”

The Thunder will get Nikola Topic back to full strength for next season, as well as two first-round picks in the 2025 NBA Draft.

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About the author

Ernesto Cova

Ernesto Cova is a journalist at Sportskeeda with a PhD in Sports Psychology. His education helped him develop a clearer understanding of the sports world as a whole, including basketball. Ernesto has over eight years of experience in the field, working for Fadeaway World, The Inquisitr, NBA Blast, The Cold Wire and Bolavip, among others.

His favorite team is the Chicago Bulls because of the Michael Jordan era. Jordan is Ernesto's all-time favorite, as he changed the game forever. Ernesto's second favorite was Kobe Bryant because he embodied that same competitive fire and Ernesto watched him play throughout his entire career. Nowadays, Ernesto really likes Stephen Curry, who he believes to be the most influential player of the past 15 years or so.

Ernesto's favorite basketball moment was when Venezuela -- his country -- took down Canada to take home the 2015 FIBA Americas Cup.

When not watching or writing about basketball, Ernesto likes to read and is interested in photography.

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