3. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder
Stats: 26 points, 6 assists, 6 rebounds, 49% FG
Why SGA deserves the award: While the Oklahoma City Thunder as a team have managed to pick up where they left off last season, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has, for the most part, done so as well. He may not be scoring at the pace he was a season ago, but that doesn't mean that he isn't off to a great start. While the efficiency is down slightly, SGA has still been the heart and soul of the offense for the Thunder. As they sit atop the Western Conference standings through the first few weeks of the season, SGA does deserve some love on this list.
If the Thunder are going to continue to take steps in their development and emerge this season as a legit championship contender in the Western Conference, the play of SGA is going to be a big reason why. Sure, the Thunder have one of the most talented young rosters in the league. However, SGA will largely fuel this team to greater heights this season. His dynamics with the ball in his hands is largely underrated across the league. With how he's played the last few seasons, it would be surprising if he wasn't in the NBA MVP race for the duration of the year.
Why SGA may not deserve the award: For as good as SGA has been this season so far for the Thunder, there is a chance he could end up not winning the award. With how deep the talent pool is in the league, it wouldn't be that surprising. One reason why SGA may not win the award is because he isn't putting up the numbers on the offensive end of the floor that he has over the past two seasons. I'd have to imagine as the voters begin to split hairs down the stretch, they could look at the drop in production as a strike against SGA.
Another reason why SGA may not get the votes for the NBA MVP award is the fact that while he's certainly a budding superstar in the league, he's not the household name that one necessarily needs to get the nod. The saving grace for SGA is that Nikola Jokic was a huge household name when he broke through to win the award back in 2021. Maybe the same can be true for SGA this season. But, if not, perhaps we can point to this as one reason he falls short once again.