Former LeBron James teammate makes emphatic MVP pick, snubbing $51,415,938 star: "Best player by far"

Nikola Jokic is, without an ounce of doubt, one of the best players of all time. Despite being a center, he's almost averaging a triple-double, and he's one of the few players who could make his $51 million contract look like a bargain.

Nonetheless, as good as he's been, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been even better this season.

At least, that's what former NBA champion Channing Frye thinks. In the latest edition of "Road Trippin'," the retired big man stated that Shai was a tier ahead of everybody else right now:

"It's Shai, it's not even close," Frye said. "I mean, people are gonna say it's close; I don't think it's close. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, every single year, has a No. 1 team in the Western Conference. He's the best player by far. What he does both defensively and offensively is absolute masterclass" (8:40).

Fry argued that the Thunder have been either the best or second-best team in the league this season, whereas the Nuggets have been up and down.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander wants to be in OKC for life

Shai has emerged as one of the best two-way players in the game. He's gotten better as a scorer with every year that goes by.

So far, he's averaged 31.4 points, 5.5 rebounds, 6.0 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.1 steals per game on 55% from the floor. Those are Michael Jordan-ish numbers.

More than that, Gilgeous-Alexander has also taken pride in being a pillar of the community. While some players don't necessarily enjoy playing for a small-market team, the Canadian guard has fully embraced Oklahoma City in the same way they've embraced him:

“I can only speak for myself. I love Oklahoma City and I can’t see a world where I’m not in Oklahoma City,” he told The Athletic. “I’m comfortable where I am. I like where I am. (...)

"Me personally, the market doesn’t matter. The money doesn’t matter to a certain extent. But as long as I enjoy what I’m doing at a very high level, I love the people that I’m around doing it.”

Mark Daigneault's team started the season as the odds-on favorite to represent the Western Conference in the NBA Finals.

We're almost at the mid-point of the regular season, and it seems like that prediction will come to fruition. The Thunder have only lost six games all year, and they don't even have Chet Holmgren back in the lineup yet.