OKLAHOMA CITY — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander cracked a grin when asked about the MVP conversation late Monday night.
This moment came days after San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama publicly presented a three-pronged case for his candidacy, hours after Los Angeles Lakers coach JJ Redick lobbied for Luka Doncic to win the award and minutes after Gilgeous-Alexander put the finishing touches on a 47-point performance to carry the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 114-110 overtime win over the Detroit Pistons.
«I think it's good for the league. I think it's good chatter,» said Gilgeous-Alexander, the reigning MVP. «It gives people something to talk about. There's a lot of good players in this league and a lot of guys in the conversation because of that.»
However, Gilgeous-Alexander doesn't want to weigh on the conversation with any words of his own.
«No, I'm good. Thanks for asking, though,» Gilgeous-Alexander said. «Yeah, I'm good. I let my game do the talking.»
Gilgeous-Alexander's game has spoken loudly all season, as he has led the defending champion Thunder to a league-best 60-16 record despite extended injury absences for several Oklahoma City rotation players, including All-NBA wing Jalen Williams. Gilgeous-Alexander ranks second in the NBA in scoring with 31.6 points per game, trailing only Doncic, while shooting a career-best 55.3% from the floor and averaging a career-high 6.5 assists per game.
With Williams and starting center Isaiah Hartenstein sitting out on the second night of a back-to-back, the Thunder needed a spectacular closing performance by Gilgeous-Alexander to escape with a win over the Pistons, the Eastern Conference's first-place team that was missing four starters, including All-Stars Cade Cunningham and
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