As a surprise to no one, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has won the MVP award with 83 first-place votes and 939 points in a ballot of 100 voters, becoming the 14th player to win back-to-back MVP awards. Nikola Jokic (634 points) was second and Victor Wembanyama (569 points) third; Luka Doncic was fourth with 250 points.
The 27-year-old guard from Oklahoma City Thunder won MVP award last season, and shortly after won the NBA title. This year, Thunder have been the best team in the regular season (64-18) and have had a perfect run in play-offs (8-0, thrashing the Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Lakers).
'SGA' is the first player to win back-to-back awards since Denver Nuggets centre Nikola Jokic in 2021 and 2022, and the first in his position since Stephen Curry in 2015 and 2016 for the Golden State Warriors. Gilgeous-Alexander also won Clutch Player of the Year.
Cleveland Cavaliers stun Detroit Pistons for the NBA Conference Finals
Also on Sunday, the Eastern Conference semifinal between Cleveland Cavaliers and Detroit Pistons ended in a shocking way: the Cavaliers, third seed, thrashed the top seed Pistons 125-94 as visitors, winning the series 4-3.
The NBA Conference finals start this week, first the Western Conference final between Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs, at 2:30 AM CEST, 1:30 BST on Tuesday, and then the Eastern Conference 24 hours later between New York Knicks and Cavaliers.