Latest projections shade Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, hype Jalen Williams for 2024-25

With the preseason officially in the rearview, the OKC Thunder can finally start prepping for what many are expecting to be an action-packed and highly successful 2024-25 campaign.

After a historic, top-seeded finish to last season, many are projecting to see both the ball club and their players take significant strides forward in their forthcoming follow-up run. However, not everyone is on the same page when it comes to which players will go on to set new career milestones and what accomplishments they'll come across along the way.

For instance, though some believe Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is in a prime position to finally take home the illustrious MVP award after falling just short in 2023-24, the folks at Bleacher Report are predicting that he will once again be on the outside looking in on claiming the Michael Jordan Trophy for himself.

B/R prediction sees Thunder's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander fall short of MVP

Though they admittedly state in their assessment that the superstar currently has a "no-brainer" case starting to formulate after this year's preseason run, as OKC went 4-1 while the guard dropped 13.3 points, 4.0 assists, 3.0 rebounds, and 1.3 steals while shooting 61.9 percent from the floor and 63.6 percent from deep in less than 20 minutes per night, to the B/R staff, the "appeal" of one other all-world talent "endures."

Unsurprisingly, their choice for the Most Valuable Player moniker is Denver Nuggets cornerstone, Nikola Jokic who has won the award three times over the last four years and edged out the Thunder guard during last year's race.

To them, the big man averaging "something like 27 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists, if not an outright triple-double" already seems like a foregone conclusion, and, should he do this while guiding the Nuggets toward enough wins "to hover near the top of the Western Conference," his claim for a fourth win seems as strong as ever.

Of course, the Bleacher Report staff wasn't completely down on the Thunder when it comes to end-of-season awards, as they actually went as far as to tab Jalen Williams as their pick to win the Most Improved Player of the Year award.

After finishing fourth in this particular race last season with averages of 19.1 points, 4.5 assists, 4.0 rebounds, and 1.1 steals on 54.0 percent shooting and 42.7 percent shooting from distance, J-Dub is now believed to be in a prime position to finally win it.

Considering he's heading into his junior campaign and that, per B/R's findings, "Five of the last nine MIP winners have been third-year players," he appears to be on the right track toward doing so.

Primed to absolutely "explode" onto the scene this coming year following his latest breakout season, assuming he can up his play in the self-creation game on offense -- arguably the one flaw within his repertoire --, outside of Cavaliers big Evan Mobley beginning "to spread the floor" or Spurs rising star Victor Wembanyama improving his offensive efficiency (shot just 46.4 percent from the floor last year despite measuring in at 7-foot-4), the B/R staff seems pretty confident in Jalen Williams' chances.