Shaquille O’Neal is sure that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will win the MVP award this season. Instead of Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, or Luka Doncic, he picks the Oklahoma City Thunder player instead.
Shaquille O’Neal Is 100 Percent Sure It’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
The Hall of Famer claims he’s sure of the choice on NBA on TNT. One of the biggest reasons for O’Neal is that he’s one of the rare players who can boast a stat line of 50 or more games while scoring 30 points.
He joins the likes of Wilt Chamberlain, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and James Harden, among others, per StatMuse. It’s not even the end of the season yet, so fans can expect that he’ll have more games with 30 points or more.
“My MVP is SGA. I saw something today, he’s one of the few guys that have 50 30-point games in a season. And he meets my criteria and everybody else’s.”
Shaquille O’Neal
Furthermore, the guard helped stabilize Oklahoma City this season. They were at a 40-42 standing as the 10th seed in the West last season. Now, they’re sitting at a comfortable 50-21 as the second seed, only trailing this year’s defending champions, the Denver Nuggets.
One factor in this change of pace is the 25-year-old’s contribution to the team and his consistency since last year. He’s averaged 30.5 points, 5.6 rebounds and 6.3 assists this season, similar to his 2022-2023 run.
“He’s the baddest player in the game and their team is 49 and 21 and Denver is 51 and 21.”
Shaquille O’Neal
O’Neal Locks It In
Additionally, the retired big man is sure of his choice mainly since Gilgeous-Alexander has 50 30-point games. As for what the “Shaq Criteria” is, fans can only theorize.
“Nobody’s doing [what he’s doing.] He has 50 30-point games.”
Shaquille O’Neal
Meanwhile, Jamal Crawford agrees with the pick, thinking the 25-year-old should win the MVP award.
However, many in the basketball community disagree. Just a few weeks ago, even fans called him out for stat padding one of his many 30-point games. Now, users are questioning his greatness after his 12-point outing against one of the league’s better defenders, Antetokounmpo.
Giannis deserves it more. Way more dominant and just outplayed SGA the other night.
— 30🅿️roblemz (@30problemz) March 26, 2024
Shai just dropped 12 points against another mvp caliber player, Giannis. pic.twitter.com/xf6NiCbr0x
— 🤍’ (@HeavenlyBuckets) March 26, 2024
Do you think Gilgeous-Alexander should be the MVP?
