“Rare Skip W”: Chet Holmgren hilariously agrees with analyst's MVP pick as OKC finishes atop West 

Upon the conclusion of the 2023-24 NBA season on Sunday, FS1's Skip Bayless endorsed OKC Thunder superstar point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as this year's MVP. His bold pick earned him humorous backhanded praise from Thunder rookie center Chet Holmgren.

OKC blew out the Dallas Mavericks 135-86 at home in Sunday's season finale, locking up the Western Conference's No. 1 seed (57-25). In doing so, the Thunder finished with 17 more wins than last season (40-42).

After their dominant victory, Bayless took to X/Twitter, citing his comments about Gilgeous-Alexander deserving MVP if he leads OKC to the West's top seed. The 72-year-old then doubled down on his previous take.

"I said if the young Thunder wind up with the No. 1 seed in the West, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander should be MVP. They did, and he is," Bayless tweeted.

Shortly after, Holmgren proclaimed Bayless' MVP pick a "rare W" for the oft-criticized media personality.

In addition to guiding the Thunder to an elite record, most would probably agree that Gilgeous-Alexander has MVP-caliber stats. Over 75 games, he averaged 30.1 points, 5.5 rebounds, 6.2 assists, 2.0 steals, 0.9 blocks and 1.3 3-pointers per game on 53.5% shooting.

Nonetheless, the two-time All-Star is considered an MVP underdog, sitting third in DraftKings' latest odds (+4000). He trails Denver Nuggets and Dallas Mavericks superstars Nikola Jokic (-6000) and Luka Doncic (+2200), whose teams finished second (57-25) and fifth (50-32) in the West.

Given his strong odds, Jokic is the overwhelming favorite. Over 79 games, the six-time All-Star averaged 26.4 ppg, 12.4 rpg, 9.0 apg, 1.4 spg, 0.9 bpg and 1.1 3pg on 58.3% shooting.

Another MVP win would mark Jokic's third, putting him in historic territory. Meanwhile, if the odds prove accurate, Gilgeous-Alexander will have to wait at least another year to secure his first MVP trophy.

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Mark Daigneault also endorses Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for MVP, citing two-way impact for OKC

Thunder coach Mark Daigneault also laid out Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's MVP case on Sunday.

Daigneault credited Gilgeous-Alexander for spearheading the Thunder's third-ranked offense (118.3 offensive rating) and fourth-ranked defense (111.0 defensive rating). He also noted that the 25-year-old is arguably the top player against any matchup, giving him immense confidence in his team.

“There is not a night where I don’t feel like we have the best player on the floor," Daigneault said. "We’re a top-five defense, top-five offense. He’s a two-end player that contributes to both of those things. ... There’s no one I’d rather have on our team than him."

OKC's young core is set to play in their first-ever playoff series together, with all their potential first-round opponents having more postseason experience. So, regardless of whether he wins MVP, Gilgeous-Alexander will likely face a tough task helping the inexperienced Thunder live up to their massive expectations.

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