To win three consecutive Most Valuable Player awards is nearly impossible in the NBA. Still, the Oklahoma City Thunder have given Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as good an opportunity as any to make history.
For the first time in four decades, SGA would be an MVP three years in a row, a feat only Larry Bird, Wilt Chamberlain, and Bill Russell have achieved.
Shai entering this elite territory would cement his status as one of the best players of the 21st Century and the defining player of the 2020s.
This reality has become all the more likely with the excellent offseason that both the Thunder and Gilgeous-Alexander have had.
Stellar draft for OKC Thunder and long-awaited Lu Dort departure
Sam Presti and OKC have once agained excelled in the offseason.
To start, the additions of Aday Mara and Bennett Stirtz are exactly what the team needs.
Mara will provide extra rim protection, as well as phenomenal playmaking from the post. His playmaking is truly elite for a big man, as evidenced by his assist percentage being the second-highest in the nation among collegiate centers last season.
Another passing hub is exactly what SGA will need to beat the nightmarish coverages he faced last season. Additionally, Mara will be a fruitful lob threat at 7-foot-3, allowing the MVP to dominate the pick-and-roll once again.
As for Stirtz, he's one of the biggest beneficiaries of the Thunder's current roster construction. His elite shooting should give him consistent minutes and make him a quick favorite off the bench for SGA. The trading away of Isaiah Joe gives Stirtz an opportunity to shine early, especially given his ability to handle the ball and pass.
These two rookies should immediately make Gilgeous-Alexander's life easier with the bench unit and will boost his offensive stats considerably.
The other, most recent significant move OKC has made this offseason is moving on from long-time Thunder guard Luguentz Dort.
Dort was a considerable negative for the majority of 2025-26, and this long-anticipated trade will do wonders for SGA.
According to databallr, since 2024, with both of them sharing the court, the team has a plus-11.9 NET rating, but with just SGA on the floor, they have a plus-19.2 NET rating, unprecedented numbers with over 2,200 minutes of sample size.
Dort's lackluster shooting (34.4 percent) and negative passing made the fit with Gilgeous-Alexander clunky, and clearly the worst guard/wing to pair with, making the decision to start him all regular season and playoffs all the more confusing.
Now that the 2025 Finals MVP will play the large bulk of his minutes with more shooters and playmakers, such as Ajay Mitchell, Cason Wallace, and Stirtz, he will likely face fewer extreme coverages, while also being able to rely on more of his teammates to hit open shots off his kickouts.
To go along with all of the ideal offseason moves in SGA's favor, his own self-improvement should put all of this together.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's team Canada play opens limitless possibilities
In just two games playing for Team Canada this offseason, Gilgeous-Alexander managed to show exactly what every Thunder fan has been waiting for: off-ball movement.
The greatest weakness in SGA's offensive game has been his ability to get open and score off the ball. This handicap was the key reason for his scoring letdowns in the playoffs. In each of the past three playoff runs, his percentage of field goals made unassisted has been 72.7, 87.6, and 84.7.
With him now playing with multiple ball handlers and solid passers, his off-ball abilities will truly be put to the test, and even further benefit his already historic scoring numbers.
The additions the Thunder have made this summer, as well as the improvements Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has made to his personal game, should leave the team right back at well over 60 wins.
This perennial team success, as well as SGA's scoring consistency, should prove to be enough to overcome voter fatigue and secure his status as the first MVP three-peat winner in over 40 years.
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