Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who is the reigning NBA Most Valuable Player and led the franchise to its first NBA championship, was named the 2025 Sports Illustrated’s Sportsperson of the Year.
Gilgeous-Alexander is the first NBA player to win the award since Warriors guard Stephen Curry in 2022, when he led Golden State to their fourth championship in eight years. He is also the first Canadian to win the award outright since 1982, when Wayne Gretzky took home the honors.
The 27-year-old Gilgeous-Alexander capped off a remarkable year by becoming the third Thunder player to win the regular-season MVP.
Led by Gilgeous-Alexander, the Thunder won 68 regular-season games. He also won his first scoring title, averaging 32.1 points per game, along with five rebounds and a career-high 6.4 assists, helping Oklahoma City finish first in defensive rating and third in offensive rating.
Gilgeous-Alexander, a three-time All-NBA First Team selection, then took the Thunder to the mountaintop with a seven-game NBA Finals victory over the Indiana Pacers. He averaged 30.3 points a game in the series and was named the Finals MVP.
The team rewarded that faith by giving him a four-year, $285 million supermax contract extension, keeping him with Oklahoma City through the 2030-31 season.
SGA told the magazine he realizes how lucky he is to win a title, considering the Thunder once had future MVPs Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden on the roster at the same time and each departed without a championship.
“That team had three MVP talents and anybody would have bet the house that they were going to eventually figure it out and win,” he said. “But you just never know with life and how things work out.”
This season, Oklahoma City has gotten off to a 29-5 start, led by Gilgeous-Alexander, who is averaging 32.1 points, 6.4 assists, and 4.7 rebounds a game