SGA splurges lavish $35k gifts on OKC teammates after ESPN ‘nerd’ gets slammed for leaking MVP news

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the Most Valuable Player for the second consecutive season.

The Oklahoma City Thunder star has won the award in a landslide vote, amid another stunning year for the defending NBA champions.

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Gilgeous-Alexander, ranked by talkSPORT as the best basketball player in the world, averaged 31.1 points, 4.3 rebounds and 6.6 assists across the regular season, while shooting a career-high 55.3 percent from the field.

He inspired the Thunder to a 64-18 record, the NBA‘s best for a second-straight year, and OKC will face the San Antonio Spurs in a blockbuster Western Conference Finals series that begins this week as they hunt another title.

While SGA has scooped the league’s top individual award once again, he made sure to show love to the teammates around him.

MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander hands out lavish gifts to OKC stars

The Canadian star was joined by his Thunder teammates during a news conference at the practice facility Sunday, and made sure everyone was dressed for the occasion.

OKC players all wore Burberry trench coats that were given to them as part of a lavish gift basket handed out by the back-to-back MVP.

They were also each given an Audemars Piguet watch, with the style shown off by Jaylin Williams on Instagram appearing to match up with a Royal Oak Offshore Diver, worth $35,000.

SGA has apparently stepped up his game from last year, when he gifted his teammates Rolex watches worth a reported $16,999 each.

The Thunder star is a well-known for his love of lavish time pieces, and has a partnership with Audemars Piguet.

“Watches are a great way to express who you are without saying a word,” he told Esquire in a recent interview, noted the specific ‘allure’ of the Royal Oak model.

“It’s not just about like telling time. It’s about style, history, craftsmanship.

Instagram: Jaylin Williams

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“It’s something that feels intensely personal, something that speaks to your own taste, your own developing story.”

With his latest round of gifts, SGA has ensured his whole team can ‘express’ themselves off the court too.

His second MVP award was officially announced on Sunday night, but the news wouldn’t have come as a massive shock to anyone who follows basketball.

In fact, it was reported by ESPN’s senior NBA insider Shams Charania hours before being made official.

NBA on Prime crew call out reporter for leaking MVP news

His decision to share the news early didn’t sit well with some colleagues in the media, with the NBA on Prime crew joking he was a ‘nerd’ ahead of Sunday night’s playoff game between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Detroit Pistons.

“Just to be clear, the official announcement is happening here,” studio host Taylor Rooks said, of SGA’s MVP win.

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“Dirk (Nowitzki) and Steve (Nash), you both won MVPs, but I don’t remember Shams spoiling it way back then.”

Nowitzki then quipped: “He was a baby then.”

Six-time All-Star Blake Griffin then chimed in: “What are we doing, man?

“It’s Sunday, Shams. Go to brunch, you nerd. Come on.”

Charania’s early announcement took little away from SGA himself, and perhaps allowed him extra time to get those lavish gifts in order.

He now joins the likes of Nash, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird in winning back-to-back MVPs, and noted he’s ‘super grateful’ to be alongside those legends.

“It’s special,” SGA said Sunday.

“All those guys have shaped the game of basketball. All those guys have changed the game and how it’s played and how it was approached before that.

“To be in just that circle, to be in that conversation, it’s something that I don’t take lightly. I’m super grateful for it.”

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