Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander illogically trails 2 players in 2024-25 MVP race

This past season, OKC Thunder superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander inexplicably finished second in the running for league MVP behind Nuggets big Nikola Jokic.

Despite putting up per-game metrics reminiscent of an in-his-prime Michael Jordan and guiding his team to the top seed in the Western Conference standings with a record of 57-25, the 26-year-old still wound up finishing with 64 fewer first-place votes and 286 fewer total points than the Denver legend en route to his third most-valued anointment in four years.

To many, how the results unfolded is grounds for being considered a true league-wide upset, with some such as Stephen A. Smith going as far as to say "I don't see how he didn't get this award," in reference to the Thunder stud.

And while initially it may have been spun as a turnout that could serve as motivation for SGA to officially claim the award during the upcoming 2024-25 follow-up campaign, based on recent rumblings, it appears the odds-makers aren't all that confident in him pushing past this proverbial hump.

In fact, FanDuel has the guard falling even lower in the final standing projections than he did last year.

Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander slides to third-best odds for MVP

According to the sportsbook company's findings, the Thunder centerpiece boasts +550 odds of taking home the illustrious Michael Jordan trophy during this upcoming campaign, trailing the front-runner Jokic (+360) and, surprisingly, Dallas Mavericks stud Luka Doncic (+370), who finished third behind both of the aforementioned players during the 2023-24 race.

Over the last two seasons, Gilgeous-Alexander has placed fifth and second, respectively, in the NBA's MVP race, while earning two All-NBA nods and All-Star selections and sporting sensational averages of 30.7 points, 5.8 assists, 5.2 rebounds, 1.8 steals, and just shy of a block on 52.3 percent shooting from the floor and 35.0 percent shooting from deep along the way.

Now, after coming off the campaign he and, frankly, the Thunder did as a whole, with a revamped supporting cast on his side (added high-end complimentary pieces like Isaiah Hartenstein and Alex Caruso this summer) it's hard to believe that the ball club will finish off the season worse than they did during this past run. Heck, there's an argument to be made that they likely will fare even better.

Should this happen, and Gilgeous-Alexander continues to produce at the rate he has over the past couple of years, it's quite barbaric to believe that the Most Valuable Player award won't be his to take come the closing of ballot boxes.

Then again, it was rather illogical that he didn't end up running away with the moniker this past season, so, sadly, fans must still be ready for the possibility of him be robbed yet again.