In a weekend filled with high-leverage basketball, the 2026 NBA playoffs are officially underway. That means we're closer to finding out the 2025-26 regular season award winners.The Oklahoma City Thunder had a handful of finalists announced. Shouldn't be a shocker.

They had an NBA-best 64-18 record and plus-11.1 point differential. After they picked up a 119-84 Game 1 win over the Phoenix Suns, they had their two All-Star representatives get love.Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was named a 2025-26 MVP finalist. The other two were Victor Wembanyama and Nikola Jokic.

Things went pretty chalk there.Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 31.1 points on 55.3% shooting, 6.6 assists and 4.3 rebounds. He played in 68 games. Considering what the tea leaves say, feels like he's well on his way to win back-to-back MVP trophies. We'll see, though, the NBA has yet to announce when the winner will be known.Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is a finalist for 2025-26 MVP pic.twitter.com/blA8ryAEAX— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) April 19, 2026This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander named as 2025-26 MVP finalist