For months, OKC Thunder fans have been shouting from the rooftops that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is more than deserving of taking home the 2025 NBA MVP award.
From his league-leading scoring feats and sensational defensive play to the sheer fact that this Oklahoma City squad won the fifth-most games in league history with him leading the charge, the 26-year-old is unsurprisingly viewed as the front-runner to take home the illustrious honor.
Despite all of this, however, there are still plenty of people out there who stand by the idea that Denver Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic is worthy of receiving the nod for the fourth time in five years, with many pointing to his triple-double averages of 29.6 points, 12.7 rebounds, and 10.2 assists as a driving reason for why.
Yet, with his play throughout this year's postseason -- especially during their head-to-head matchup in round two --, more and more people are starting to understand just how special of a player the Thunder guard is and why he's overwhelmingly fit to be crowned the league's most valuable baller.
With his performance during Tuesday's Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals, he even managed to convert one specific Jokic MVP loyalist to switch sides.
Michael Malone admits Thunder star deserves to win NBA MVP
Following the Thunder's 114-88 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves in their series opener, former Nuggets head coach Michael Malone couldn't help but gush over Gilgeous-Alexander's impact on his team, especially during the second-half of play, and officially said the quiet part out loud about the superstar by alluding that he's the league's rightful MVP.
"He showed why he's the MVP," Malone said.
After a frighteningly poor start to the night where he posted 11 points and 2 turnovers on 2-for-12 shooting from the floor in the first half, Gilgeous-Alexander managed to go absolutely nuclear throughout the final 24 minutes of the game.
In the second half, he was directly responsible (both personally scoring and assisting) for eight of Oklahoma City's first 10 points out of the gate to give them their first lead since the 4:58 mark in the first and would go on to pour in a whopping 20 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds, and a steals while shooting 57.1 percent from the field
It's no surprise that this kind of all-around performance registered SGA the best plus-minus rating on the night at +22, as well as served as a driving force in OKC nabbing a 1-0 series lead right away.
Frankly, Malone's fashionably late recognition of the Thunder star's MVP worthiness is merely just an added bonus, though, admittedly, it is entertaining to see that Gilgeous-Alexander played incredibly enough to the point where one of Nikola Jokic's biggest believers felt they had to jump ship.