OKC Thunder: Is Shai Gilgeous-Alexander a good bet for MIP?

The OKC Thunder are almost set to get their 2021-22 NBA season underway, the team will open up training camp on September 28th, play their first pre-season game on October 4th, and open up their second on the 20th of October.

This year is not expected to feature a ton of wins for the Thunder, with many over/under win total’s set in the low 20’s, the main goal will be player development, and whatever wins come along is a cherry on top.

Is OKC Thunder point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander a good bet for the MIP award?

It is almost time to begin prognosticating NBA awards, who will win the title, who enters the playoffs, and who disappoints…Then promptly throw those projections in the trash can about a month into the season when the entire landscape changes.

A popular Most Valuable Player picks for the 2021-22 NBA season is Oklahoma City point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Entering his age 23 season, SGA is primed for a fully healthy 82-game sprint one he has not seen since his rookie campaign thanks to a pandemic shortened season each of the last two campaigns as well as a foot injury last year.

Many outlets and popular basketball personalities go back and forth between tabbing SGA and Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. for the 2021-22 MIP award. While getting Gilgeous-Alexander into the NBA All-Star Game will be a huge priority for Thunder fans, with the buzz around OKC growing in an attempt to win SGA some hardware, is he a good bet for the award?

The first negative against putting money down on the tall guard to win the award is that I believe betting on any award-based bet is silly. So many factors go into it that you can not predict, it presents more variables than just guessing who will win a game and by how much.

The second factor is the idea he is the favorite so even if he takes home the award, your ROI is not that great.

Most importantly, are we sure he should be the favorite, or are the oddsmakers being lazy? Look, I love SGA and I think he should have been an All-Star last year and won the MIP award (because at that point both him and Randle would’ve had All-Star bids), and I do believe SGA will take another step this year!

I am high on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander becoming a star, he is my favorite player to watch in the entire NBA. However, when you look at who votes for these awards, it seems like a lot of box score perusing and not a ton of attention to detail.

Speaking strictly from a box score perspective, can the 23-year-old get better than 23-points per game, four rebounds, and six assists on .50/.41/,80 shooting splits?

As the lone proven offensive weapon on a projected bad team, defenses will hound the Canadian, though SGA has faced flustering defense before and remained effective.

I believe SGA will do what it takes to improve his game and win the award, but will the simple box score reflect that enough for voters to agree?

The other way to go with this in terms of condemning the voters, have they already made up their mind and shaped the narrative that if SGA even comes close to his All-Star level production much less makes the ASG, he will be gifted the award, as a rightful makeup from last year?

Those are all the variables at play here for a betting number that does not bring back a huge return on investment. While I will not directly tell you how to spend your money, I would advise against betting on any awards, especially with this many question marks.