Utilizing Basketball-Reference.com, Rotowire.com looked at how often the NBA Most Valuable Player goes on to win the NBA Finals in that same season since 2000. With Shai Gilgeous-Alexander winning the MVP this season and the Oklahoma City Thunder still alive in the NBA Playoffs, can he join this illustrious group?
Unfortunately for Thunder fans, the numbers don't tell a promising story. But it can be done.
NBA MVP + Championship Since 2000
o 2000 – Shaquille O'Neal (Lakers)
o 2003 – Tim Duncan (Spurs)
o 2012 – LeBron James (Heat)
o 2013 – LeBron James (Heat)
o 2015 – Stephen Curry (Warriors)
SGA Looks To Join NBA Elite
Only 5 times in the past 25 seasons (20%) has the regular season MVP gone on to collect the title in the same year, showing it's possible - but not likely.
Visit RotoWire's basketball betting section for the latest NBA odds and futures and player props from various sportsbooks!
How Shaq, Tim Duncan Cemented Legacies
In 2000, Shaq, Kobe Bryant and Phil Jackson dismantled the Indiana Pacers in 6 games, with O'Neal also winning NBA Finals MVP to boot. O'Neal averaged 38 points, 16.7 rebounds and 2.7 blocks a game in the series. That came on the heels of his only regular season MVP in which he averaged 29.7 points, 13.6 rebounds and 3 blocks a game. O'Neal of couse entered the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016.
Duncan in 2003 authored a similar story, helping the Spurs to beat the New Jersey Nets in six games in the NBA Finals. Like O'Neal in 2000, Duncan also captured NBA Finals MVP by averaging 24.2 points, 17 rebounds and 5.3 assists. This was Duncan's second straight regular season MVP award.
LeBron James and Stephen Curry: Recent MVP and Finals Conquerors
LeBron James went ahead and pulled off the regular season MVP/Finals winner in back-to-back seasons with Miami in 2012 and 2013, as the Big 3 Heat figured things out in years two and three after falling to the Dallas Mavericks in 2011. Those were the first two titles of James' career, and helped start the Michael Jordan GOAT debate that still has air today.
Stephen Curry is the most recent player to win the regular season MVP and Finals, but unfortunately for SGA, that was a decade ago. Other MVPs in the years since, such as Russell Westbrook (2017), James Harden (2018), Giannis Antetokounmpo (2019 and 2020) and Joel Embiid (2023) came up short of a championship in those same years.
Interestingly, Nikola Jokic collected three MVPs in the 2021, 2022 and 2024 seasons. But the Nuggets only collected the Larry O'Brien Trophy in 2023.
We'll see if SGA can join this elusive club - all of whom are either already in the Basketball Hall of Fame or have a plaque waiting for them. First, he and the Thunder will have to get through the Timberwolves and whoever wins the Eastern Conference finals between the Pacers and Knicks.
Allen Iverson, Kobe Bryant Came Close
One other data point that jumps out: 32% of regular season MVPs since 2000 have made the NBA Finals, but their teams ultimately fell short - including Allen Iverson (2001 with 76ers), Kobe Bryant (2008 with Lakers) and Curry (2016 with Warriors).
