Recent prediction sees Thunder snap six-year league-wide drought

Last year the OKC Thunder became the youngest team in league history to be crowned the top seed in a conference standings after rattling off 57 wins during the regular season, a 15-win improvement compared to their 10-seeded finish back in 2022-23.

Though accomplishing such a storied feat was the result of an entire team effort, leading the charge for Mark Daigneault's club was none other than Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who went on to drop sensational, Michael Jordan-esque averages of 30.1 points, 6.2 assists, 5.5 rebounds, 2.0 steals, and just shy of a block on 53.5 percent shooting from the floor and 35.3 percent shooting from deep.

With his play, not only did the 26-year-old further establish himself as one of the league's true superstars, but he also went on to finish as the runner-up in the Most Valuable Player race behind Nuggets big, Nikola Jokic.

His efforts even had a strong enough case for many established, in-the-know personalities to argue their case for why his second-place rank should have qualified as a massive snub.

Now, heading into a crucial follow-up 2024-25 campaign, one where the Thunder are being tabbed as a favorite to represent the West in the NBA Finals, many believe this club and its players will dominate the rest of the league, and, as far as accolades are concerned, the folks at Bleacher Report are already predicting that Gilgeous-Alexander will finally end up taking home the MVP award.

Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander predicted to win 2025 NBA MVP

In a recent piece pinpointing a specific "hot take" for every team in the association heading into the new season, writer Eric Pincus made the admittedly "lukewarm" prediction that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will be crowned league MVP.

Along the way, he would also project that the Denver Nuggets will find themselves "backsliding" in 2024-25, while the Thunder will wind up winning "over 60 wins" on the year.

Not only is this forecast fantastic for the likes of SGA on the surface, but, if realized, it would see the Thunder be associated with accomplishing two other specific feats, for not only would they be just the third team since 2019-20 to surpass the 60-win mark, but the soon-to-be seventh-year pro would become the first guard to take home the Michael Jorand Trophy since Jame Harden back in 2018.

Heading into the 2024-25 season, the organization is looking to enter the history books by claiming their first title since arriving in the South Central region of the United States back in 2008, but, according to Pincus' projections, they could very well find themselves accomplishing several other notable efforts along the way.