The Oklahoma City Thunder certainly couldn't have won the NBA title without NBA MVP and new NBA Finals MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. They couldn't have won it without All-Star wing Jalen Williams either, though.
As the Thunder celebrated the franchise's first championship since they moved to Oklahoma City, Gilgeous-Alexander gave his co-star some flowers while he was on the podium to collect his shiny new hardware.
"Jalen Williams is a once in a lifetime player," Gilgeous-Alexander said after he was named NBA Finals MVP on the ABC and ESPN broadcast. "Without him, without his performances, without his big-time moments, with all his big-time shotmaking and defending, everything he brings to this team—we don't win this championship.
"This is just as much my MVP as it is his. We'll share this one for a very long time."
"This is just as much my MVP as it is his."
— ESPN (@espn) June 23, 2025
—Shai giving JDub his flowers 👏 pic.twitter.com/6KKKJkqbeP
Williams scored 20 points in Sunday's championship-deciding Game 7 and averaged 23.6 points per game in the series. He blew up for 40 points in Game 5, which helped power the Thunder to a 3–2 series lead. He added five rebounds and 3.7 assists per game over the Finals, too, plus two steals in Game 7 as the Thunder forced a whopping 23 turnovers as a unit.
The third-year wing earned his first All-Star appearance this year and averaged 21.6 points, 5.3 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game over the regular season while connecting on 36.5% of his three-point attempts. Now, the 24-year-old Williams can add NBA champion to his growing résumé.
More NBA Finals on Sports Illustrated
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Gave Jalen Williams the Ultimate Praise After NBA Finals Win.
