The Oklahoma City Thunder have spent the past two seasons watching Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ascend to the very top of the NBA. He is the reigning two-time Most Valuable Player, the best player in the world, and the centerpiece of a franchise that captured a championship with him at the helm in 2026. His trophy case already sparkles with four All-NBA First Team selections, four All-Star appearances, a scoring title, a championship, and a Finals MVP. Yet the ultimate validation of sustained dominance may still be ahead of him, because a third consecutive MVP is one of the rarest achievements in professional basketball.
Only three players in NBA history have ever won three straight Most Valuable Player Awards. Bill Russell did it from 1961 through 1963, Wilt Chamberlain achieved it from 1966 through 1968, and Larry Bird matched the feat from 1984 through 1986. The list stops there. Even the greatest of the greats — Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar — never managed three consecutive victories. For Gilgeous-Alexander to join that exclusive fraternity, he will need to produce a season that is not merely great, but historically significant. He will need to be better than he has ever been, and he will need to fight off a force that is nearly impossible to quantify but always present in MVP races: voter fatigue.
Gilgeous-Alexander's own career arc is a testament to relentless improvement. He came into the league as a promising but unspectacular rookie in 2018, drafted 11th overall by the Los Angeles Clippers and quickly traded to Oklahoma City as part of the Paul George blockbuster. In his early years, he showed flashes of brilliance, but no one could have predicted he would become the most unstoppable guard since Jordan. By the 2023-24 season, he had transformed into a scoring machine, averaging over 30 points per game and leading the Thunder to the top of the Western Conference. The following year, he won his first MVP. Then he won it again. Now he stands on the precipice of immortality.
But the path is not straightforward. The past season brought a subtle but noticeable dip in his per-game numbers. His points per game and rebounds per game both slipped slightly from the previous MVP campaign. The drop was not enough to cost him the award, as he still posted incredible averages and led OKC to the league's best record. Yet the margins in MVP voting are razor-thin, and a second consecutive decline — no matter how slight — could open the door for a voter to look elsewhere. Gilgeous-Alexander cannot afford to regress, even by an inch. He must either maintain or improve upon his statistical output, and ideally, he should reach career highs in multiple categories.
The concept of voter fatigue is well known to longtime NBA observers. When a player dominates the league for years, sportswriters and broadcasters who vote for the award often begin to take his greatness for granted. They may subconsciously search for a narrative that feels fresh, a new face deserving of recognition. This happened to Jordan in the 1990s, when Karl Malone and Charles Barkley each captured MVP trophies despite Jordan's consistent brilliance. It happened to LeBron James, who won four MVPs in five years but was denied a fifth despite nearly identical production. Gilgeous-Alexander has been running the league for years, and the whispers have already started. Some pundits are openly wondering whether it is time for someone else to get the spotlight.
The list of potential challengers is long. Luka Doncic is always in the conversation. Anthony Edwards is ascending. Victor Wembanyama could make a leap that defies logic. And the Thunder's own Jalen Williams, who continues to improve, might steal some votes from his teammate simply by being a rising star on the same team. But none of those players currently have the combination of individual dominance and team success that Gilgeous-Alexander possesses. What they have is novelty, and in an MVP race, novelty can be dangerous.
To overcome that, Gilgeous-Alexander will need to make the award impossible to vote against. He will need to put up numbers that are so overwhelming that voter fatigue becomes irrelevant. In his first MVP season, he averaged over 33 points per game and was also a menace on defense, earning All-Defensive consideration. He has always been a two-way force, using his length, quickness, and basketball IQ to disrupt passing lanes and block shots at the rim. The raw talent has never been in question. The challenge is sustaining that excellence while also pushing the boundaries of what he has already achieved.
A scoring title would certainly help his cause. He won his first scoring title two years ago, and bringing home a second would put him in rarefied air alongside the likes of Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, and James Harden. But scoring alone is not enough. He must also elevate his playmaking and rebounding. If he can boost his assists to a career-high level, showing that he can make his teammates better even while carrying the scoring load, it would silence critics who say he is merely a volume scorer. Similarly, improving his rebounding, especially on the defensive end, would demonstrate an all-around commitment to winning that voters love.
Team success will be the ultimate tiebreaker. The Thunder are loaded with talent, having built one of the deepest rosters in the league. They are expected to contend for the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference again, and if they can secure the best record in the NBA, Gilgeous-Alexander's case becomes much stronger. Historically, two-thirds of MVP awards have gone to players on teams that finished first or second in their conference. A dominant regular season, coupled with classic individual stats, would give him a narrative that is almost impossible to ignore.
But there is a more intangible element to consider. Gilgeous-Alexander is not just a great basketball player; he is a symbol of OKC's remarkable rebuilding job. The Thunder went from a lottery team to a dynasty in a few short years, and he is the reason. His leadership, maturity, and unselfishness have been praised by teammates and coaches alike. Those qualities do not always show up in box scores, but they influence how voters perceive him. If he can continue to lead the Thunder to victories while maintaining his incredible personal production, the emotional attachment to his story could override the desire for a new face.
History also offers a lesson. The last player to win three straight MVPs, Larry Bird, did so during a stretch when he was unquestionably the best player on the best team. Bird averaged roughly 25 points, 10 rebounds, and 7 assists during that span, numbers that are comparable to Gilgeous-Alexander's current output. Bird's greatness was accepted because he won, and because his individual brilliance never wavered. The same can be true for Gilgeous-Alexander if he refuses to let his level drop.
The 2026-27 season is shaping up to be a defining chapter in his career. On paper, the Thunder are as strong as ever. The roster is young, hungry, and battle-tested. The coaching staff has a system that maximizes his strengths while covering up any weaknesses. He has all the tools he needs to make history. The only question is whether he can summon even more from within himself.
Those who watch him every day believe he can. His work ethic is legendary. He spends countless hours in the gym, refining his mid-range jumper, working on his three-point shot, and studying film to find new ways to attack defenses. His basketball IQ is off the charts, and his physical conditioning is impeccable. He has already achieved so much, but he carries himself with the hunger of a player trying to prove something. That mindset is what separates the greats from the legends.
In the end, the odds are against him. No one has won three consecutive MVPs in nearly four decades. The gravitational pull of voter fatigue is real, and there will be no shortage of deserving candidates ready to take the crown. But if there is anyone capable of defying history, it is Gilgeous-Alexander. He has done everything else that seemed impossible. He turned a forgotten franchise into a champion. He claimed back-to-back MVP trophies in an era of unprecedented talent. He has silenced every doubt that ever shadowed his career. A third MVP would be the final piece of a perfect puzzle, and it would cement his legacy as one of the most dominant players to ever lace them up.
For that to happen, he cannot coast. He cannot rest on his laurels. He must enter every game with the relentless intensity of a player chasing his first title, not his third MVP. He must elevate his rebounding, enhance his playmaking, and keep his scoring at an elite level. He must lead the Thunder to a record that demands respect, and he must do it all while carrying the weight of expectations on his shoulders. If he can do that, then the voters will have no choice but to reward him. And if he cannot, then he will at least have given the NBA world a season to remember.
Source: MSN News