DENVER (KDVR) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder has won the 2024-2025 NBA Most Valuable Player Award, according to a report from ESPN’s Shams Charania.

Gilgeous-Alexander beat out two other finalists: The Denver Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic and the Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Jokić had won MVP in 2024, winning his third MVP in four seasons, beating out Gilgeous-Alexander and Luka Dončić. Antetokounmpo is a two-time NBA MVP.

Gilgeous-Alexander is now the third player in Thunder history to win the award, after Kevin Durant won it in the 2013-2014 season and Russell Westbrook won in the 2016-2017 season.

During his MVP season, Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 32.7 points on 51.9% shooting from the floor, 6.4 assists, 5.0 rebounds per game, 1.7 steals, and 1.0 blocks, leading the Thunder to a 68-14 season and #1 seed in the Western Conference.

Although Antetokounmpo was listed as a finalist, it was debated by voters that the award would go to Jokic or Gilgeous-Alexander.

Jokic averaged 29.6 points, 10.2 assists, 12.7 rebounds, 1.8 steals and 0.6 blocks while shooting 57.6% from the field and 41.7% from three.

Jokic became the third player ever to average a triple-double in the regular season, and the first to ever finish in the top three in four major statistical categories.

This is the second time in a week or so where Jokic will fall short of Gilgeous-Alexander, as the Thunder knocked the Nuggets out of the playoffs after a thrilling seven-game series.

Jokic is a three-time NBA MVP winner, and in the last five years has been runner-up the times he did not bring home the award.

The 2022-23 season NBA MVP was given to Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers, with Jokic the runner-up.

After losing out on the award for a second time in such a tight race, many people in the NBA sphere will sympathize with Jokic, who narrowly missed out on being a five-time consecutive winner had a few votes gone his way.

Nexstar affiliate station, KFOR’s Mario Gonzales, contributed to this report.