Inside The Thunder

End of the Season Thunder Awards: Most Valuable Player

The SI Thunder staff is handing out the end of the season awards for this year's Oklahoma City team, today selecting the Most Valuable Player.

Ryan Chapman

InsideTheThunder.com's End of the Season Thunder Awards concludes with the biggest award of them all, the Most Valuable Player.

Nick Crain's Pick: Luguentz Dort

Lu Dort was arguably the most consistent player for the Thunder all season long. Not only did he lock down opposing players and even hit a game-winner, but he was one of only five OKC players to notch at least 50 games played.

After a rookie season full of offensive struggles and inconsistency, Dort improved drastically on that end of the floor during the 2020-21 season.

He averaged 14.0 points per contest while converting on 34.3 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc.

Of course his defense looked great per usual as well, rounding out his game and truly becoming a well-respected player in the league on both ends of the floor.

While Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Al Horford were probably better overall than Dort when they were on the court, those guys played only 35 and 28 games respectively.

After going un-drafted and earning a full-time deal, the Thunder’s steal of a prospect continues to impress on one of the most team-friendly deals in the NBA.

Derek Parker's Pick: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander embodies everything that an MVP is for Oklahoma City.

Stats, eye test, advanced metrics, you name it. Gilgeous-Alexander was far and away Oklahoma City’s best player this season.

Gilgeous-Alexander’s impressive line of 23.7 points, 4.7 rebounds and 5.9 assists don’t begin to tell the whole story. The third-year led the team in total points with 830, despite playing 20 less games than Darius Bazley, who finished second on the team with 754.

Piling on to his already impressive resume, Gilgeous-Alexander was as clutch as it gets this season. Per 36 minutes in the clutch, he ranked first in the league with 50.9 points.

Sidelined due to plantar fasciitis from March 24 on, the Thunder couldn’t function with SGA, going 3-26 in its final 29 games.

Thunder Awards:

Ryan Chapman's Pick: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

The Thunder without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander simply crumbled. 

But that's not why he's the MVP of this year's Oklahoma City squad. 

The Canadian took another leap toward superstardom before he got injured. 

Taking 1.2 more shots per game, Gilgeous-Alexander actually got more efficient. Improving his field goal percentage by three points, the former Kentucky star also found another level behind the arc. 

Shooting 41.8 percent from 3-point range, Gilgeous-Alexander improved on his career high by six percent, continuing his development and becoming a legitimate threat from deep. 

Not to mention, without their star point guard in the lineup, the Thunder posted the worst point differential over a 25-game span in NBA history.

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Ryan Chapman
RYAN CHAPMAN

Ryan has worked in the Oklahoma City market for two years for 107.7 FM The Franchise, The Flagship Station for Oklahoma Sooners Football. Along with covering the Sooners, he is also in his second season as a credentialed media member covering the Thunder. In December, Ryan joined AllSooners.com to cover Sooners. Ryan has also covered the Oklahoma City Dodgers (AAA affiliate of the LA Dodgers) and the Oklahoma City Energy (USL Championship). 

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