“I’m just sitting there watching him like, ‘Man, I remember when he was scrawny and was on his first contract in The Bubble’…. He also showed a side to him that we see every day. He let everybody in on that,” said Mark Daigneault when describing what Shai Gilgeous-Alexander winning the MVP award, and his impact on the team, means to him. The point guard has certainly come a long way from when he was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder back in July 2019. At the same time, so has the franchise. It is hard to believe that this is the team that, 3-4 years ago, had occupied the 2nd-to-last seed on the Western Conference chart. And as the team heads to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2012, even Shai could not help but reflect how far his squad had come.

The 124-94 victory against the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 5 ensured that OKC now goes to the next and final stage of the 2024-25 tournament. The night was made extra special after Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was awarded the Western Conference Finals MVP trophy!

During his speech commemorating the feat, the player said, “A couple years I got here, there’s some really dark times in this arena. Not fun times, and these stands, fans have been by our side through thick and thin. So, we appreciate them, first and foremost,” said Shai. “And then, of course, I want to thank my teammates. Without them, I have nothing. Clear as day. I don’t have 124 points by myself”.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was traded to OKC as part of a deal that also sent Danilo Gallinari, five first-round draft picks, and the rights to swap two other first-round picks, all in exchange for Paul George. He had joined the team after one of the better seasons of OKC, as they had set a 49-33 win record and secured the 6th seed in the Western Conference chart. The trade raised some doubts, as fans were worried that Russell Westbrook wouldn’t be able to carry the OKC squad by himself. The team’s front office responded to that doubt by, wait for it, trading Russell Westbrook 6 days later!

In came Chris Paul, who himself did not stay for more than a season. OKC’s downfall began after that, with the team ending as the 14th seed on the Western Conference, thanks to a 22-50 win record, during the 2020-21 season. The squad ended as the 14th seed again in the 2021-22 tournament, winning only 24 of 82 games. Dark times indeed, when it felt like there was no hope for the team to make a lasting impression again.

While enduring these losses, however, the Oklahoma City Thunder front office was also undertaking a young core rebuild. During the 2022 NBA draft, the team used their 2nd overall pick to select Chet Holmgren and the 12th pick to select Jalen Williams. On top of that, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander improved upon his performances by taking the offensive charge. His average points jumped from 24.5 in the 2021-22 season to 31.4 in the 2022-23 season. Shai, along with Chet Holmgren and Gordon Hayward, helped the team return to championship contention. Today, they stand tall, having defeated big-name teams to reach the NBA Finals. While Shai’s efforts are certainly the most commendable in helping the team reach this point, neither he, nor us, can diminish the contribution of his teammates.

Moving up from those dark times is a big achievement. It allowed Shai to finally be a part of a championship-contending team and walk away with both his first MVP, and Western Conference Finals MVP title. No one was gladder about this than the player’s father. His overexcitement even caught Shai by surprise.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander joked after dad took WCF MVP trophy in postgame celebration: “You’re acting like it’s yours”

As the players huddled around the center of the basketball court at the Paycom Center, it was obvious to everyone who was set to receive the Western Conference Finals MVP honor. Sure enough, Shai’s name was called, and he immediately picked up the Magic Johnson award. Once all the formalities were done, Shai took a moment to mark the feat by taking photos with his family. During the session, SGA hilariously called out his father, who was holding his new MVP trophy a bit too comfortably. “You acting like it’s yours!” said Shai to his dad. Vaughn Alexander, in turn, played off the joke by pretending to put the trophy in his pocket to take home. Even after the MVP made that remark, Alexander Sr continued holding the prestigious award. It was a moment that could be described as nothing short of ‘wholesome’.

It was only less than a week ago when Shai Gilgeous-Alexander won the NBA MVP title. In an interview with CBC News, Vaughn marked the feat by saying, “I can’t say that I knew this was going to happen or this is what we [had] written”. Vaughn Alexander had coached both his son and nephew, Nickeil Walker-Alexander, when they were kids. According to him, the duo probably knew that the day one of them walked off with the MVP title would come, but he did not. It would sting a little bit that Shai now goes to the NBA Finals after defeating his cousin’s team, the Minnesota Timberwolves. However, we do know that Nickeil would nevertheless be happy for Shai.

“These guys are the type of guys that dream big and they’re always doing these little mini games and series against each other and they had that in their mind that, you know, ‘we’re going to do something one day’” Vaughn added.

The father saw the dark days that engulfed his son and his squad, and was glad to see them collectively succeed. If he was acting like that with the WCF MVP Trophy, we can only imagine how he would be if the Larry O’Brien trophy ends up in his hands in the coming days.