Thunder beat Nuggets in Game 7, will face Timberwolves for WCF crown
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder cruised past the Nuggets and will now face the Timberwolves for the Western Conference crown.
Sports Pulse
The Western Conference Finals and the Eastern Conference Finals of the NBA playoffs are set, but the NBA still hasn’t announced the winner of the 2025 NBA MVP award.
When will it announce the winner of the award, given to the most valuable player in the NBA for the regular season and voted on by a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters who cover the league?
Here’s what to know about the announcement, finalists and expected winner for the NBA MVP award for the 2025 season as the Minnesota Timberwolves vs Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers vs New York Knicks’ postseason series get underway.
Watch Western Conference Finals on FUBO (free trial)
When will the NBA MVP be announced?
Interestingly, the NBA MVP award last year was announced on May 8, but the league still hasn’t announced the winner of the award this year, which has increased the hype around the award … and questions surrounding the delay.
Many expect the league to announce the winner of the award during the conference finals, which start May 20 for the Western Conference and May 21 for the Eastern Conference.
Who are the NBA MVP finalists?
There are three finalists for the NBA MVP award: Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder and Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets.
The award is a regular-season award, Antetokounmpo averaged 30.4 points, 11.9 rebounds and 6.5 assists per game on the season for the Bucks, who went 48-34.
Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder to a 68-14 record, averaging 32.7 points, five rebounds and 6.4 assists per game in the regular season.
Jokic scored 29.6 points per game for the Thunder, with 12.7 rebounds per game and 10.2 assists per game., Denver went 50-32.
Even though it is a regular-season award, Gilgeous-Alexander and Jokic just faced off in a memorable seven-game Western Conference semifinals series in which the Thunder prevailed in seven games, which prompted NBA star Ja Morant to speculate that the league was waiting to see who won the series before announcing the winner of the award (even though it is a regular-season award).
Who will win the 2025 NBA MVP award?
While some people have called for Jokic and Gilgeous-Alexander to share the award after their memorable playoff series, the award is for the regular season MVP and Gilgeous-Alexander is the favorite to win it.
NBA.com listed the Thunder star No. 1 on its final MVP ladder at the end of the regular season, with Jokic second and Antetokounmpo third.
Shaun Powell wrote: “Gilgeous-Alexander will finish as the league’s leading scorer, a player who gets buckets virtually everywhere on the floor and does so with envious efficiency. He’ll finish with over 50% in field goal percentage (51.9%), which is uncommon for a guard. He rarely forces shots, is masterful in getting to his sweet spots and led the NBA in 50-, 40-, 30- and 20-point games. As for defense, he’ll be a strong candidate for one of the All-Defensive teams. League-leading scorers rarely make such a two-way case for themselves, so this is very Michael Jordan-ish for Gilgeous-Alexander. He’s among the league’s steals leaders and is stealth-like in how he goes about his business defensively. No one will begrudge Gilgeous-Alexander for winning MVP. He was a strong candidate last season and simply followed up with an even better season. His impact is evident everywhere on the floor and way up in the standings.”
It appears that Gilgeous-Alexander will win the NBA MVP award after his stellar season for the Thunder. The question is … when will it be announced?
Watch Eastern Conference Finals on Sling TV
Reach Jeremy Cluff at jeremy.cluff@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter @Jeremy_Cluff.
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