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NBA Betting: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Catching Steam For Two Major Awards

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's case for the MVP award, among others, is strong as the regular season continues to wind down.

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Oklahoma City Thunder
Oklahoma City Thunder

The NBA regular season has roughly a month and a half remaining before postseason play begins. With that, players have that much time to continue building their resumes for whatever award they might be competing for. Jalen Williams can continue stacking together a case for Most Improved Player, while Chet Holmgren has some ground to cover to win Rookie of the Year.

While those two Thunder players are competing for an award -- and Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault is in the mix for Coach of the Year -- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander might hold the most weight of all.

While Denver Nuggets superstar and two-time MVP Nikola Jokic leads all the odds with -140 odds to win his third MVP, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander follows closely with +210 odds to win his first MVP award, according to FanDuel.

Averaging 31.2 points per game, Gilgeous-Alexander remains one of the premier scorers in the league. He's doing so on 55 percent efficiency from the field, also shooting 39 percent from beyond the arc -- something that has improved since the All-Star break.

Competing for the Most Valuable Player award is nothing new for the 25-year-old, as he finished No. 5 in voting just a season ago, while the team finished No. 10 in the Western Conference. This season, they project to be a top-three seed in the conference, led by Gilgeous-Alexander's incredibly efficient play.

The Thunder superstar guard averages 5.6 rebounds per game and 6.5 assists per game to round out his stats, but one of the most impressive stats is his 2.1 steals per game. Gilgeous-Alexander's defense continues to be very underrated. 

Bovada listed Gilgeous-Alexander with +1500 odds to win Defensive Player of the Year, another major award he could be competing for as the season winds down. This goes to show how far his case for the MVP runs as his two-way impact and efficient play have led the Thunder to a top seed in a very, very tough conference. 

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