Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Climbs NBA MVP Ladder Following Hot Start

With another week passing by, the new NBA MVP Ladder is out, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is climbing.

The Oklahoma City Thunder has played 15 games so far this season. While they face another tough challenge in the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday, they've been playing quite solid this season. They're currently 11-4 and have an MVP candidate leading the way. 

With the recent NBA.com NBA MVP Ladder being released, Thunder star guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander saw a bump in his ranking. A week ago, he stood at No. 5 in the rankings. This week, as the Thunder extended its winning streak to six games, Gilgeous-Alexander was ranked No. 4 in the MVP Ladder.

"Behind Gilgeous-Alexander, the young Thunder ride a league-best six-game winning streak thanks to the 25-year-old notching his third 40-point game of the season on Wednesday that included a season-high 12 assists," Michael Wright of NBA.com writes. 

Gilgeous-Alexander has only really had one bad game, and that came against the defending NBA champions, the Denver Nuggets, who were fully healthy at the time.

On the season, Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 30.4 points, 6.1 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 2.4 steals per game. While he is averaging one less point per game from last season, he's seeing a career-high in rebounds, assists and steals per game. He's doing this while shooting an efficient 54 percent from the field. 

The numbers back up Gilgeous-Alexander's impact on the Thunder's winning season so far through this season, as no one could have expected the team to be the No. 2 team in the Western Conference in the early part of this season. 

Gilgeous-Alexander's defensive impact has been huge, too, as he plays a key part in a thriving defense, and he has counting stats to back it with his 2.4 steals per game.

The elevated talent around Gilgeous-Alexander combined with his ability to buy into the team system -- and thrive in it -- is one of the many reasons Gilgeous-Alexander is so high in the MVP conversations and seems to be on his way to another All-NBA appearance. 

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