Gilgeous-Alexander has now joined an elite group after carrying out one thing that hasn’t occurred in over a decade.
Gilgeous-Alexander accomplished the fashionable NBA trifecta by being named the common season MVP after which lifting each the Larry O’Brien and the Invoice Russell trophies on the finish of the postseason. He turned the primary participant to win the NBA MVP, the championship and the Finals MVP in the identical season since LeBron James did it in back-to-back seasons, the final of which got here following the 2012-13 marketing campaign.
Whereas a number of superstars have come shut since James, and a few even personal each trophies on their total resume, nobody else has been capable of declare each honors in the identical season over the previous 12 years.
When Stephen Curry received his first MVP in 2015, he additionally led the Warriors to what would grow to be his first of his 4 championships. Nonetheless, it was his teammate Andre Iguodala who was named the Finals MVP. He was MVP once more a yr later, however the Warriors squandered a 3-1 sequence lead and misplaced the Finals as James and the Cavaliers completed off a historic comeback
Kevin Durant was the Finals MVP in each 2017 and 2018 when Golden State received back-to-back championships. And when Curry lastly received that elusive Finals MVP in 2022, he did it to cap off a season during which Nikola Jokic was MVP.
Talking of Jokic, he is a three-time NBA MVP, however in ironic vogue, completed because the runner-up to Joel Embiid within the yr he would go on and lead the Nuggets to their first championship because the Finals MVP.
However the present second is about Gilgeous-Alexander. And for the reason that merger, only the 10 names made the list previous to Gilgeous-Alexander.
These legends are Michael Jordan, who did it 4 instances, James’ with the 2 most up-to-date such seasons previous to this yr, Larry Chook with a pair of his personal after which singular occurrences by Tim Duncan, Shaquille O’Neal, Hakeem Olajuwon, Magic Johnson, Moses Malone, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Willis Reed, the primary to do it in 1969-70.
Ensuring he left the postseason with every bit of {hardware} doable, Gilgeous-Alexander was also the Western Conference Finals MVP when defeating the Timberwolves to get to the Finals. He was even the season’s particular person scoring champion.
And to place his playoff run in perspective, Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 30.3 points, 5.6 assists and 4.6 boards all through your complete postseason.
As inconceivable a job as it could be, it is now as much as Gilgeous-Alexander to go for the encore subsequent season. Both manner, the 26-year-old three-time All-Star is already on a Corridor of Fame trajectory with a legendary legacy.
