Shai Gilgeous-Alexander named Western Conference Player of the Month for December
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has officially entered the MVP conversation.
After being named the NBAโs Western Conference Player of the Week on Tuesday, the former Kentucky point guard was tabbed as the Western Conference Player of the Month on Thursday for his play during the month of December. This is the first-ever Player of the Month award for Gilgeous-Alexander, 25, who has led the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 23-10 mark and the second-best record in the Western Conference so far this season.
Throughout 13 games in December, Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 31.9 points, 6.6 assists, 5.4 rebounds, and a league-high 3.1 steals in 35.2 minutes per game for OKC, which posted a 10-3 record during that stretch. SGA also shot 55.3 percent from the field and 88.7 percent from the free-throw line.
As of Thursday afternoon, Gilgeous-Alexander now holds the third-best odds to win the leagueโs Most Valuable Player award at +400, according to FanDuel. He trails only the reigning MVP Joel Embiid (+210) and two-time MVP Nikola Jokic (+270). On the season, SGA is averaging 31.4 points, 6.4 assists, 5.9 rebounds, and a league-best 2.5 steals in 34.8 minutes per contest. His 1.9 turnovers per game are the lowest since his second season in 2019-20.
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If Gilgeous-Alexanderโs stats were to hold for the rest of the season, he would become just the second player in NBA history to average at least 30 points and 2.5 steals per game on over 50 percent overall shooting. The only other player to reach those numbers? Some guy by the name of Michael Jordan.
Gilgeous-Alexander is also on pace to play in his second All-Star Game after making his debut in the event last season. The first batch of All-Star fan votes was announced earlier on Thursday with SGA receiving 966,927 votes, the third-most among Western Conference guards.
Remember when he came off the bench at Kentucky?
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