Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's basketball journey has taken him from underrated Kentucky signee to the current best player in the sport.

The Oklahoma City guard was named the NBA Most Valuable Player on Wednesday, marking the first time a former Wildcat has won the award.

Gilgeous-Alexander beat out defending NBA MVP Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets -- a three-time winner -- for the honor. He received 71 first-place votes, while Jokic captured 29 first-place votes.

"SGA," as he became known during the 2017-18 season with Kentucky, led the NBA in scoring at 32.7 points per game during the regular season. It marked the first time a UK product has accomplished that feat as well.

Gilgeous-Alexander has led the top-seeded Thunder (68-14) to the NBA Western Conference Finals, where his team is facing former Wildcat Julius Randle and the Minnesota Timberwolves.

During the course of the 2024-25 season, Gilgeous-Alexander recorded the most 20-, 30-, 40-, and 50-point performances in the league. He had a 72-game streak of scoring 20-plus points, the fourth-longest in NBA history and the longest since Oscar Robertson had 76 in 1963-64. Wilt Chamberlain is the record-holder at 80, having accomplished that twice.

Gilgeous-Alexander also averaged 6.4 assists, 5.0 rebounds, and 1.7 steals per game while shooting nearly 52% from the field.

He is seeking to become the first player since Stephen Curry (2014-15) to win the league’s scoring title, earn MVP honors, and capture a championship in the same season. Other players to achieve the feat include Bob Cousy, Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Willis Reed, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Moses Malone, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Hakeem Olajuwon, Shaquille O’Neal, Tim Duncan, and Lebron James.