With Monday night's historic performance against Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets, many believe OKC Thunder superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has already secured his second consecutive NBA Most Valuable Player award.
However, Stephen A. Smith believes one more dominant performance may still be needed, and that Oklahoma City's upcoming matchup against the Celtics could provide him the opportunity to have exactly that.
During a recent episode of First Take, the veteran ESPN personality stated that the MVP race is now squarely between Gilgeous-Alexander and Boston star Jaylen Brown. It just so happens that the two will be facing off against one another this coming Thursday, and, as Smith put it, "all of us are watching."
"If it's nip-and-tuck, we're going to have a nip-and-tuck MVP race. If [Shai Gilgeous-Alexander] goes out there and busts Boston's you know what, that's a problem. If Jaylen Brown goes out there with Boston and busts Shai and Oklahoma City's you know what, we're going to be like, 'Oh damn, we've got to pause and look at this because it's a different day,'" Smith said.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander could lock-up MVP with Thunder win vs. Celtics
As per the league's latest MVP ladder update, Gilgeous-Alexander is seen as having a comfortable lead ahead of the rest of the pack in the chase for the illustrious Michael Jordan Trophy, with Jaylen Brown stationed at five in the pecking order.
With roughly a month remaining between now and the regular season's end, coupled with the fact that guys like Victor Wembanyama (four) and Jokic (two) are teetering on being eliminated from the race thanks to the so-called “65-game rule,” there's ample time and potential opportunities ahead for someone like the Celtics star to jump up the standings and be right on Gilgeous-Alexander's tail.
To Stephen A., a strong individual performance and a win for Boston on Thursday night could give the forward a major boost in such an endeavor.
Then again, such an outcome for the Thunder could all but solidify SGA as the 15 player in NBA history to ever win back-to-back MVPs.
Needless to say, from the narrative surrounding the aforementioned superstars to the fact that both Boston and Oklahoma City are the game's most recent champions, the upcoming matchup between these two juggernauts will be must-see TV.
The game's tip-off out at Paycom Center is set for 9:30 pm (ET) on Prime Video.
Make sure to have your popcorn ready!