Ignoring Luka Doncic’s Greatness, Shaquille O’Neal Stakes Claim for OKC Superstar’s First NBA MVP Award

In the initial half of this NBA season, Shaquille O’Neal greatly appreciated Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic, for his dominating numbers against every franchise. However, as weeks passed by, along with the Slovenian, Shaq slowly started to endorse Oklahoma City Thunder sensation Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The 25-year-old has been the anchor of Thunder’s offense, and he has kept the team at the top alongside the defending champions, throughout the season. Well, this was enough for Shaq to make his case for the MVP. 

The Los Angeles Lakers champion shared on Inside the NBA, “MVP is SGA…He’s one of the few guys who have fifty 30-point games in a season, and he meets my criteria. He’s the baddest player in the game and their team is 49-21.” Jamal Crawford, who had joined TNT today, also sided with Shaq to endorse Gilgeous-Alexander. Despite Luka Doncic being the best scorer in the league, with an average of 34 points per game this season, Shaq believes the OKC guard should win his first MVP title.

Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 30.5 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 6.3 assists, which is a bit less compared to Doncic. However, the Canadian guard has better efficiency with a field goal percentage of 54%, when compared with Doncic’s 48%. On top of this, the Thunder are 7 wins above the Mavericks. Anyhow, Shaquille O’Neal’s emphasis was on the numerous 30-point games that Gilgeous-Alexander has dropped this season. 

Can Michael Jordan’s multiple fifty and above 30-point games in a season make a case for Gilgeous Alexander to win MVP? 

Chicago Bulls icon Michael Jordan has dropped 50+ thirty-point games four times in his career. His best was in 1987 when he had 67 thirty-point games. However, Magic Johnson was given the MVP award that season because the Lakers finished first in the West and the Bulls finished 8th in the East. However, the case was different in 1991. 

Read more: Shaquille O’Neal Leverages 2 Conditions to Make Bold MVP Pick

Michael Jordan had 52 games where he dropped more than 30 points. But notably, he led the Bulls to the first seed that season. He also secured his first-ever NBA championship, with impeccable averages. So as Shaq said, both numbers and standings should be considered for a regular-season MVP award. So Gilgeous-Alexander has an upper hand in the MVP conversation. But also at the same time, Nikola Jokic fills the above criteria.

So it’s safe to say that the Serbian center is a bigger threat to Gilgeous-Alexander than Luka Doncic is. What do you think? 

Read more: Shaquille O’Neal Snubs Luka Doncic for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, How Is NBA World Reacting to This Bold Claim?