Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards is never afraid to speak his mind, because his hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines this season make it very clear. His latest comments won’t cost him more money, but they will make headlines.
Edwards called Shai Gilgeous-Alexander the “MVP of the NBA” after the Oklahoma City Thunder star dropped 40 points in a 113-105 win over the Timberwolves on New Year’s Eve.
“For me, he is uncontrollable” Edwards said by ESPN. “As far as any one-on-one matchup goes, yeah, you can go ahead and give up. Just give him two points most of the time. So I think you have to trap him. Maybe that doesn’t work, but you have to try it Of course you have to send a second body, especially if he gets a favorable matchup Every time he has someone he knows he can’t keep. , he scores every time.
Gilgeous-Alexander has been on a tear lately, with three 40-point outings in his last five games. In December, he averaged 33.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 2.5 steals on shooting times of 56.3/36.6/91.0. Hearing Edwards’ praise was particularly meaningful.
“No offense to you media guys, but the best satisfaction is when your peers and guys who do the same thing for a living at a very high level, recognize and respect your craft and your talent,” Gilgeous -Alexander said. “It’s a great feeling. Obviously he’s a caliber player and there are no limits. A tough battle tonight.”
With Gilgeous-Alexander leading the way, the Thunder put together a 12-game winning streak that gave them a five-game lead atop the Western Conference standings. At 27-5, they are on pace for 69 wins, which would be the best season in franchise history. The last few weeks in particular have been an impressive response after the Thunder were embarrassed by the Milwaukee Bucks on the national stage in NBA Cup championship match.
The combination of his own stellar play and the Thunder’s hot streak has made Gilgeous-Alexander the MVP favorite in the betting markets. Heading into the New Year, he was -110 at Caesar’s Sportsbook, ahead of three-time MVP Nikola Jokic at +125 and two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo at +600.
There’s still more than half the season left, but if Gilgeous-Alexander wins the MVP award, he’ll be the third Thunder player to do so, joining Kevin Durant (2014) and Russell Westbrook (2017).
