Directly after it was revealed that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had been crowned league MVP for the second consecutive season, his OKC Thunder co-star, Jalen Williams, said on social media that "there's gonna be some uncomfortable convos" being had as a result.
Less than 24 hours later, it seems this is already proving to be the case among some of the more prominent names in sports media, as host of the Game Theory Podcast, Sam Vecenie, stated on a Monday morning episode that Shai is arguably already "a top 25 player of all time if the career ends right now."
"If [the Thunder] win another title this year, he will have been the best player on two NBA title teams... Two MVPs, best player on two NBA title teams... It's Stephen Curry that applies to, LeBron that applies to, Tim Duncan that applies to, Jordan, Magic, Bird that would apply to. It starts to get into a range where we really, really, really are getting to an elite level with Shai," Vecenie said.
Here in his eighth season in the association, Gilgeous-Alexander has seen his all-time status skyrocket into a truly unique and highly exclusive stratosphere.
From passing Wilt Chamberlain for the most consecutive 20-plus point games and posting the highest field goal percentage ever by a guard averaging 30 or more points in a season (55.3 percent while scoring 31.4 points a night) to, now, becoming just the 14 player to win back-to-back MVPs, the Thunder star's name is undoubtedly among elite company.
Even if he's not a lock for top-25 all-time status just yet, the fact that he's already at least in the conversation at 27 years old suggests that he's all but destined to become one when it's all said and done.
Thunder star has one more club he should be looking to enter this season
Excitingly enough, there's still plenty of time for Gilgeous-Alexander to add even more legendary accomplishments to his resume here in 2025-26.
The Thunder find themselves gearing up for their second Western Conference Finals appearance in the last two seasons and clearly have their sights set on downing their opponent, the Spurs, before clinching yet another NBA Finals berth where, hopefully, they'd be on their way toward becoming the first repeat champion since the 2018 Warriors.
From an overall team standpoint, accomplishing such a task would automatically place them in a rarefied category, as only seven teams in league history have won back-to-back titles.
For Gilgeous-Alexander specifically, winning a second straight chip and taking home Finals MVP along the way would see him be thrust into a club that, as things currently stand, only has Michael Jordan and LeBron James as members, for such a feat would make him the third player ever to win league MVP, an NBA Championship, and Finals MVP in consecutive seasons.
Assuming he continues on with his current level of play and overall impact, only eight more wins stand in the way of the Thunder cornerstone receiving his membership card.
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