2024-25 Kia MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander became the third Thunder player to win the award in the franchise’s OKC era.
The Thunder have had some of the most dominant players in the NBA play for them during the franchise’s time in Oklahoma City. Three of them have brought home regular season MVP awards. Let’s highlight the achievements of those players during their award-winning campaigns.
Kevin Durant: 2013-14
When the Thunder were still known as the Seattle SuperSonics, they selected Durant with the second pick in the 2007 Draft. He won the 2007-08 Rookie of the Year award, averaging 20.3 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game. In 2009-10, he led the league by averaging 30.1 points per game, finishing second in MVP voting. That campaign also began a streak of three straight seasons in which he led the NBA in points per game.
Durant followed up 2009-10 with second-place MVP finishes in 2011-12 and 2012-13. He then led the league in scoring for the fourth time in his career in 2013-14, averaging 32.0 points per game. That, combined with his averages of 7.4 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 1.3 steals and 2.4 three-pointers per game, helped Durant win the regular season MVP in 2013-14. He would go on to play two more seasons with the Thunder before joining the Warriors.
Russell Westbrook, 2016-17
The SuperSonics selected Westbrook with the fourth pick in the 2008 Draft. He immediately proved to be a pillar of health, not missing a game in each of his first five pro seasons. He made his first All-Star team in 2010-11, which also marked the first time in his career that he averaged at least 20.0 points per game. He eventually led the league by averaging 28.1 points per game in 2014-15, helping him finish fourth in MVP voting. He also finished fourth in MVP voting in 2015-16.
As good as he was up to that point, Westbrook had the best season of his career in 2016-17 when he averaged 31.6 points, 10.7 rebounds, 10.4 assists and 1.6 steals per game, earning MVP honors for the regular season. Westbrook would go on to play two more seasons for the Thunder before becoming a member of the Rockets prior to the 2019-20 season. He has also played for the Wizards, Lakers, Clippers and Nuggets since leaving Oklahoma City.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, 2024-25
Gilgeous-Alexander was traded to the Thunder in July 2019 as part of the deal that landed Paul George with the Clippers. He made his first All-Star team in 2022-23, averaging 31.4 points, 4.8 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game on his way to finishing fifth in MVP voting. The following season, he finished second for the award, averaging 30.1 points, 5.5 rebounds, 6.2 assists and 2.0 steals.
Gilgeous-Alexander took his scoring contributions to another level in 2024-25, leading the league by averaging 32.7 points per game. He also averaged 5.0 rebounds, 6.4 assists and 1.7 steals to go along with his 51.9% shooting from the field. The result was him being named the regular season MVP, beating out former MVP winner Nikola Jokic, who came in second place in the voting.
