Inside The Thunder

OKC Thunder: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Favorite to Win NBA Cup MVP

Oklahoma City Thunder superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the betting favorite to win the Most Valuable Player of the NBA Cup, in-season Tournament.

Rylan Stiles

Jan 23, 2024; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) celebrates after a play against the Portland Trail Blazers during the second half at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 23, 2024; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) celebrates after a play against the Portland Trail Blazers during the second half at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports / Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports
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The Oklahoma City Thunder are poised to have a competitive 2024-25 season with many projecting the team to win the Western Conference. Not only are the pundits picking Oklahoma City to make it to the NBA Finals, but FanDuel has the Thunder favored to do so as well checking in with +300 odds to win the West.

After rattling off 57 wins a year ago, the Oklahoma City Thunder bolstered their roster by adding Isaiah Hartenstein in free agency to sure up their frontcourt issues while swapping the ill-fitting Josh Giddey for defensive ace Alex Caruso to take an already top defense and make them even better.

At Fanduel, they also have odds on who will win the artist formerly known as the in-season tournament, the NBA Cup, where the Thunder (+750) own the second-best odds to win the tournament behind just the Boston Celtics (+450).

The sportsbook also has odds on who will win the NBA Cup MVP, where Oklahoma City Thunder superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander checks in with the best odds (+800) to take home the honor, in a category that is more scattered than the regular season honor.

Gilgeous-Alexander is ranked ahead of Jayson Tatum (+1000), Giannis Antetokounmpo (+1000) with Jaylen Brown holding (+1100) odds for the honor.

The odds stray from the regular season award on account of the finite amount of games and the pathways to the final four in Vegas which is practically an unofficial requirement to win the award. The Boston Celtics, on top of being the league's best team, has the far and away easiest path to winning the Cup, which is why there duo is boosted for the MVP award.

Oklahoma City has a drama-filled but winnable NBA Cup Group mixing that with the high-level production of Gilgeous-Alexander and it is easy to envision him winning the honor if the Thunder make an NBA Cup run which many project them to do.

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Rylan Stiles

RYLAN STILES

Rylan Stiles is a credentialed media member covering the Oklahoma City Thunder. He hosts the Locked On Thunder Podcast, and is Lead Beat Writer for Inside the Thunder. Rylan is also an award-winning play-by-play broadcaster for the Oklahoma Sports Network. 

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