The race for this season’s MVP is getting exciting by the day. Several players present a strong case for the title, and it’s pretty difficult to circle it down to one player. While this might be a problem for most people, Shaquille O’Neal is certain that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander deserves the title this season. Recently, the NBA veteran talked about MVP contenders and why he thinks Shai deserves it more than others on the ‘NBA on TNT’ show.
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The big fella recently put up a story on his Instagram highlighting Shai’s 50 thirty-point games in a single season. The NBA veteran used the same logic on the show while claiming Shai is this year’s strongest MVP candidate. Shaq said,
“The MVP is SGA…And he meets my criteria…He’s the baddest player in the game and their team is 49-21.”
The MVP race this season is a close one but none of the other players have been able to make an impact on Shaq as much as Shai.
According to the Kia MVP Ladder, Nikola Jokic is at the top spot, averaging 26.1 PPG, 12.3 RPG, and 9 APG this season. Shai is in the second spot with 30.9 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 6.4 APG, Giannis Antetokounmpo is third with 30.7 PPG, 11.2 RPG, 6.4 APG, Luka Doncic averaging 34.1-9-9.8, and Jayson Tatum is at the fifth spot with 27.1-8.3-4.9. There is a lot of good competition this season, but for Shaq, it’s an easy decision.
It’s worth noting that Shaq didn’t recently start hyping up Shai for the MVP title. In fact, the four-time NBA Champion has been rooting for him for a long time and has placed him above the rest of the contenders.
Shaquille O’Neal is impressed by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
With several big names in contention, one would assume that Shaq must’ve budged on his stance on Shai for MVP, but that has not been the case for the big man this season.
Earlier this month, the NBA veteran placed the OKC star over Jokic as he leads an inexperienced league team. The big man shared a post on his IG story that read, “Shai for MVP” and made it clear who he is rooting for.
In January this year when many people had Luka for the MVP spot on their list, Shaq said that he would go for Shai even though Luka is a great player. He said,
“I’m gonna have to take [Gilgeous-Alexander]. This kid, he plays the right way, gets his teammates involved… He’s definitely emerged as one of my favorite players to watch.”
The fact that he has been with this take for months, makes you wonder just how happy Shaq would be if Shai ended up winning the MVP title.
