Shai Gilgeous-Alexander may have already done the hard part by stacking back-to-back MVPs, but the next one could be the toughest yet.
With the 2026-27 NBA season creeping into view, Oklahoma City is again expected to sit near the top of the league picture. Even so, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst pointed to a familiar obstacle that could slow down Gilgeous-Alexander’s run at a third straight MVP: history.
“There’s something that happens: you can win 2 MVPs in a row, but, for some reason, the standard for winning the third just gets very, very high,” said Windhorst. “The last guy to win 3 MVPs in a row was Larry Bird.
By the way, most of the contested/hot button MVPs were when guys were trying to win their third. Michael Jordan won in ‘91 & ‘92, and Barkley won in ‘93, which has been debated for years.
LeBron won 2 in a row twice. And the one time in between was Derrick Rose.
I think Rose was amazing that year, but a lot of people think that was a flaw.”
That kind of voter resistance has been around a long time. The league hasn’t seen a three-peat champion since the early 2000s Lakers with Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal, and Bird remains the last player to win three MVPs in a row, doing it in 1986. Since then, no one - not Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Stephen Curry, or Nikola Jokic - has pulled it off.
Windhorst framed it as “voting fatigue,” the idea that voters get hesitant to keep handing the same trophy to the same player. That makes the third one a different kind of climb, even for a player with Gilgeous-Alexander’s resume. He’s already taken the last two MVP awards, but he’s also coming off a summer in which his team fell short of championship expectations, losing the Conference Finals in seven games to the Spurs.
And yet, the case for Gilgeous-Alexander is still obvious. At 28, the 6’6″ guard is right in his prime, and last season he put up 31.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 6.6 assists, 1.4 steals, and 0.8 blocks per game while shooting 55.3% from the field. That’s the kind of production that keeps him squarely in the conversation no matter how crowded the field gets.
The field, though, is crowded. Victor Wembanyama, Luka Doncic, Anthony Edwards, and Jalen Brunson all give him serious competition, and Oklahoma City’s place in the standings will matter too. The Thunder will likely need to stay near the top of the West - specifically in the top two - if Gilgeous-Alexander is going to have a real shot with voters.
Even with all of that, the award itself may not be the main thing on his mind. Gilgeous-Alexander is after another championship, not another individual trophy, and that’s the standard he seems most interested in chasing.
In Other News...
Kevin Durants Westbrook Reaction Will Hit Thunder Fans Hard
Russell Westbrooks retirement after 18 NBA seasons closed the book on one of the leagues most influential careers, and for Thunder fans it also reopened memories of the Oklahoma City core that once carried the franchise to the center of the basketball conversation. A former MVP and perennial All-Star, Westbrook changed the way the game viewed the triple-double and spent years as the relentless engine of a Thunder era defined by speed, force and unwavering competitiveness.
Kevin Durants reaction only adds another layer to that history. As Westbrooks former teammate in Oklahoma City, Durant praised his work ethic and acknowledged the bond they built while leading the Thunder, but he also made clear he believed Westbrook still had something left in the tank before choosing to walk away. For a fan base that watched both stars shape the franchises rise, hearing Durant talk about Westbrook this way will land with extra weight. [Read more 🡒]
Jalen Williams Has One Big Job In OKCs Title Push
Jalen Williams 2025-26 season never really got the chance to settle into rhythm. Injuries limited him to 33 games, and his scoring dipped to its lowest level since his rookie year, a steep step back for a player the Thunder have counted on as part of their title core. The issues were more than just a cold shooting stretch, too, as the missed time and physical setbacks made it hard for him to look like the same two-way force Oklahoma City had leaned on.
The encouraging part for the Thunder is that Williams is expected to come back closer to form in 2026-27, with an offseason focus on getting his body and game right again. He has also been working with the trainer who helps guide Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, a sign that Oklahoma City is treating his recovery and next step with real intent. For a team pushing toward another championship run, Williams does not need to become a different player. He just needs to become himself again. [Read more 🡒]
Thunder Title Defense Could Come Down To One Lineup Decision
The Thunder go into 2026-27 in the rare place of trying to defend a title while still being treated like a co-favorite, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams all back at the center of it. Around that core, though, coach Mark Daigneault is staring at a roster puzzle that feels bigger than most teams depth-chart debates because the offseason trades changed the shape of the group and left Oklahoma City weighing how best to cover every phase of a game.
The biggest question may not be who starts so much as how the Thunder want to finish and where the shooting comes from when the lineup tightens. Daigneault has options with the returning pieces and the newcomers, but the choices will say a lot about whether Oklahoma City wants maximum spacing, more defense or simply the best blend of trust and versatility when the games get louder in the spring. [Read more 🡒]