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Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

Northwest Notes: SGA, Williams, Adelman, Randle

May 11th, 2025 at 3:30pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

All-NBA Thunder point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has taken responsibility for his underwhelming play in an overtime Game 3 road loss to the Nuggets, per Tim MacMahon of ESPN.

The 6’6″ pro, the presumptive 2025 MVP, scored an inefficient 18 points while shooting just 7-of-22 from the field and didn’t attempt a shot during the overtime frame. All-Star Oklahoma City forward Jalen Williams scored a career playoff-best 32 points.

“The game gets slower, execution matters more,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “In those moments when the game slows down, it usually comes down to your best players making shots and making plays. I didn’t do a good enough job of that tonight, and I think that’s the main reason for the outcome.”

Nuggets stars Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon and Michael Porter Jr. all made up for MVP center Nikola Jokic‘s similarly inefficient night. Each member of that triumvirate scored at least 21 points, with Murray’s 27 leading the way.

There’s more out of the Northwest Division:

  • The ascent of Williams as a true offensive release valve for Gilgeous-Alexander is a testament to the Thunder‘s patient team-building, asserts Rylan Stiles of Thunder On SI. Despite winning 68 games during the regular season, the Thunder have struggled mightily against Denver, and currently trail the Nuggets 2-1 in their conference semifinal series, with Game 4 ongoing. The team’s young core may need more time to jell together in the postseason to really do the kind of damage it may eventually be capable of. Still, Williams has developed a steadier hand as a scorer. The third-year forward is averaging 22.6 points, 5.3 assists, 5.0 rebounds, 1.1 steals and 0.9 blocks per night across seven playoff contests so far.
  • Just two years removed from their first-ever title as a franchise, the seasoned Nuggets seem to be capitalizing on a playoff experience edge over most of the Thunder’s young core, observes Bennett Durando of The Denver Post (subscription required). Interim Denver coach David Adelman reflected on Oklahoma City’s relative inexperience in the postseason. “We were young once, and we handled it pretty well,” Adelman said. “And they do, too. That’s why they won so many games. The reason they haven’t played a lot of close games is they have completely blown the doors off people the whole season. If I was coaching a team, I would rather do that than play 55 four-point games.” As Durando notes, the Thunder logged the best point differential in league history this past regular season — but thanks in part to that, the team notched a scant 66 “clutch” minutes, the least in a season for any team in the 21st century.
  • The Timberwolves rode a 24-point, 12-assist, 10-rebound triple-double from Julius Randle to carve out a 102-97 Game 3 victory and a 2-1 series edge over Golden State, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPN. “I feel like I just got a lot of different tools, you know what I mean?” Randle said. “It’s really about using my mind and taking what the defense gives me. If they don’t double-team me, score. If they double-team me, find my guys.”
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Thunder Notes: SGA, Holmgren, Defense, Caruso

May 9th, 2025 at 4:51pm CST by Luke Adams

After blowing a late lead in Game 1 of their second-round series vs. Denver, the Thunder became the first team to win at home in any of the conference semifinals on Wednesday. As Tim MacMahon of ESPN writes, Oklahoma City dominated Game 2 from start to finish, setting a franchise record for points in a playoff game en route to a 149-106 win. Their 48-point lead after three quarters was the fourth-largest margin entering the fourth quarter in NBA playoff history, MacMahon adds.

As detailed by both MacMahon and Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander set the tone for the Thunder and has found his groove after getting off to a slow start in the postseason. The MVP frontrunner made just 35.3% of his field goal attempts in his first three games against Memphis, but has knocked down 57.1% since then, averaging 35.0 points per game over his last three outings.

On Wednesday, Gilgeous-Alexander scored 34 points in just 30 minutes, converting 11-of-13 field goals and registering a staggering +51 plus/minus mark. He told reporters after the victory that his team knew what was at stake and “came out desperate” to open Game 2, but he added that he otherwise hasn’t changed his approach in recent games.

“I feel the exact same,” the Thunder star said. “I feel like I’m getting to where I want to go. I don’t worry about makes and misses. It’s all about the process for me. I try to put myself and my teammates in the best position I can every possession down offensively and defensively. And wherever that takes me, wherever that takes our team, I’m happy with as long as I make the right decisions night in and night out, play in and play out. That’s what I’m focused on more than the makes and misses. So I feel just as confident as I did those two games where I couldn’t make anything.”

Gilgeous-Alexander also downplayed the notion that winning by 43 points on Wednesday gives the Thunder the momentum or the upper hand as the series shifts to Denver.

“Winning by a hundred or winning by two, it’s still 1-1, and I think that’s very important,” he said. “Like I said, especially in the series, every game’s going to look different. People are going to make adjustments. It’s going to be a different crowd, a different feel. You’re going to start hot; you’re going to start cold, everything’s going to look different. It’s important to turn the page.”

Here’s more on the Thunder:

  • Big man Chet Holmgren missed two late free throws in Game 1 that opened the door for Aaron Gordon‘s game-winning shot. After bouncing back in Game 2 with 15 points, 11 rebounds, and a +34 mark in 26 minutes, Holmgren explained that recovering from a pair of major injuries since he entered the NBA has helped give him the right mindset and perspective to deal with that sort of on-court adversity, per Rylan Stiles of SI.com. “I had five screws and a plate put in my foot, shattered my hip in basically six places,” he said. “I was thinking about it. I was like, if I could pick one of those three, missing a couple free throws is the least of your worries. Obviously, it hurts knowing what was on the line. Playoff game, you never want to lose. But, you also can’t be afraid to fail, I guess.”
  • Responding to Gordon’s gripes about how Nuggets star Nikola Jokic is being officiated so far in the series, Holmgren said on Friday that he believes both teams are getting a fair whistle (Twitter video link via Joel Lorenzi of The Oklahoman). “I feel like when we’ve fouled, we’ve been called for fouls. When they foul, they’ve been called for fouls,” he said. “… I feel like it’s a physical game of basketball. That’s what the playoffs is. We just have to come out and be ready for that.”
  • While the Thunder racked up 149 points in their Game 2 win over Denver, it’s their smothering defense that has become their calling card, according to Tim MacMahon of ESPN, who spoke to several of Oklahoma City players about how the defense became the NBA’s top-ranked unit. Alex Caruso referred to OKC’s defense as its “superpower,” while Isaiah Hartenstein noted that the team “doesn’t really have a weak link” on that end of the court. Caruso also pointed out that the Thunder’s defensive success is fueled to some extent by the competitiveness of their individual defenders. “We haven’t said it out loud, but iron sharpens iron,” he told ESPN. “You see somebody competing at a certain level, playing at a certain level, you have no choice but to match that. And if you don’t, you get left behind.”
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Northwest Notes: Randle, Thunder, SGA, Blazers

May 6th, 2025 at 9:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Julius Randle missed over a month during the regular season due to a groin injury. The Timberwolves big man used that time to reevaluate how he could best impact his new teammates, he told Marc Spears of Andscape.

“When I got injured those few weeks, I was able to see what the team needed, kind of see better how things are done and how I can best help us win games,” Randle said. “So, usually when I get injured, I try to come back better than I was before and really that was my focus. It was just learning the teammates, learning the system, adjusting, learning how I can best help the team.”

Randle delivered in a big way during their first-round series against the Lakers, posting averages of 22.6 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game.

We have more from the Northwest Division:

  • The Thunder played just 24 games this regular season decided in clutch time, Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman notes. That may have caught up to them in Game 1 of their second-round series against Denver, as they squandered a late nine-point lead. “We’ve usually been able to execute pretty well on both ends and slam the door on those games,” coach Mark Daigneault said. “We didn’t do that last night.”
  • Franchise player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is eager to see how his Thunder teammates will respond in Game 2 on Wednesday. “It should be fun,” Gilgeous-Alexander said, per Tim MacMahon of ESPN. “We’re going to find out what we’re made of, what we’re really made of. Nobody expected it to be smooth sailing this whole journey. No journey in life is, and we know that. Today’s a bump in the road — unexpected. No one expects to lose, especially that way, but it’s the game of life. So it’s about how you respond to getting knocked down.”
  • The Trail Blazers held a pre-draft workout on Tuesday that included Devon Pryor (Oregon), Rueben Chinyelu (Florida), Ben Henshall (Perth Wildcats), Dink Pate (Mexico City Capitanes), John Blackwell (Wisconsin) and Lachlan Olbrich (Illawarra Hawks), Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian tweets. Pate (No. 55) and Henshall (64) are the highest-rated prospects among that group, according to ESPN’s Best Available list.
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Northwest Notes: Jokic, Gilgeous-Alexander, Gobert, Bradds

May 5th, 2025 at 7:49pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Nuggets–Thunder second-round series features a clash between the top two contenders for the Most Valuable Player award, Denver big man Nikola Jokic and Oklahoma City guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. But it would be a stretch to call it a showdown, according to Jokic, since they play different positions.

“He’s a very different player,” Jokic said, per Ramona Shelburne of ESPN. “He’s playing on so many levels, speed, as a scorer. Everything looks so easy for him. Even when you are like, ‘Oh, that’s a good defense.’ It feels so easy for him and he’s amazing with a change of speed, change of rhythm, ball-handling. He can post up guys, he can go by guys, his shooting at the mid-range is unguardable basically. He’s a very special player.”

OKC coach Mark Daigneault feels neither player will care to make an individual point in the series.

“I know Shai a lot better than I know Jokic,” Daigneault said. “But I think I know enough to know that neither one of them are going to get distracted by that. Both of them are going to be fully invested in the series. It’s a supplement to the series. But it’s really, it’s not part of the series at all.”

We have more from the Northwest Division:

  • It’s important for SGA to be well-liked by his teammates and peers beyond just being a superstar player, Jenni Carlson of The Oklahoman writes. “He wants to be one of the greats,” Daigneault said. “He also wants to be one of the guys.”
  • Minnesota center Rudy Gobert posted 27 points and 24 rebounds against the Lakers in the deciding Game 5 of the series. The Timberwolves big man became the first player with at least 25 points and 20 boards in a series-clinching win on the road since Shaquille O’Neal achieved that for the Heat against the Bulls in 2006, Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic relays. “That’s the Rudy that can win you championships,” guard Mike Conley said. “When you have that type of mentality to go get every rebound, go get every block, defend every guy at the rim, we needed that. He came at the biggest moment of our season.”
  • Will Hardy received a contract extension on Monday but the Jazz will need to replace at least one of his assistants. Assistant coach Evan Bradds has left the organization to join Duke’s staff, according to the school’s basketball social media account (Twitter link).
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Super-Max/Rose Rule Candidates To Watch After Mobley Cashed In

April 25th, 2025 at 8:49pm CST by Luke Adams

As we detailed on Thursday within our story about Evan Mobley earning Defensive Player of the Year honors, the award represented a major financial boon for the Cavaliers big man, who significantly increased the value of his contract extension by virtue of being named this season’s Defensive Player of the Year.

Mobley signed a five-year, maximum-salary rookie scale extension last summer that included Rose Rule language. The Rose Rule allows a player and team to negotiate a maximum salary worth up to 30% of the cap (instead of the usual 25%) for a player with just four years of NBA experience if he makes an All-NBA team or wins the MVP or DPOY award.

Interestingly, Mobley’s rookie scale extension would’ve started at 27.5% of the cap in 2025/26 if he had made the All-NBA third team (instead of one of the first two teams) and hadn’t won Defensive Player of the Year.

Now that he has received DPOY recognition, it will instead start at 30%.

Here are the three scenarios that had been in play for Mobley, based on a projected 10% cap increase:

Year 25% of cap 27.5% of cap 30% of cap
2025/26 $38,661,750 $42,527,925 $46,394,100
2026/27 $41,754,690 $45,930,159 $50,105,628
2027/28 $44,847,630 $49,332,393 $53,817,156
2028/29 $47,940,570 $52,734,627 $57,528,684
2029/30 $51,033,510 $56,136,861 $61,240,212
Total $224,238,150 $246,661,965 $269,085,780

Mobley cashed in with his DPOY win, locking in a contract that projects to be worth in excess of $269MM over the next five seasons. Are there any other players who could join him by earning All-NBA nods this spring?

There’s only really one other guy who entered award season in the same boat as Mobley, waiting to see if his rookie scale extension worth 25% of the cap will increase to 30% of the cap. That player is Pistons point guard Cade Cunningham.

Cunningham looks like a pretty safe bet to be included on one of the All-NBA teams for 2024/25, and unlike Mobley, his contract doesn’t include any variable rates between 25% and 30% depending on which All-NBA team he makes. If Cunningham is a third-teamer, that would still be enough to bump his ’25/26 salary to 30% of the cap, matching Mobley’s deal.

Two other players signed Rose Rule extensions last offseason, but Magic forward Franz Wagner didn’t appear in enough games to qualify for All-NBA consideration and Raptors forward Scottie Barnes isn’t a serious candidate for the honor — their new contracts will start at 25% of next season’s cap.

There’s one other player to watch for potential super-max candidacy though — Grizzlies big man Jaren Jackson Jr. would become eligible for a super-max (ie. “designated veteran“) contract extension worth up to 35% of the cap if he’s one of this season’s 15 All-NBA players. He looks like a solid bet to make the cut after serving as Memphis’ most reliable offensive weapon and earning DPOY votes.

If Jackson earns an All-NBA spot, the Grizzlies would have three options when they enter extension talks with him this offseason:

  1. They could offer him a raise of up to 40% off his current contract, but that likely wouldn’t be enough to get a deal done, since his salary in the final year of his current deal in 2025/26 is just $23.4MM, a relatively modest figure for an All-NBA caliber player.
  2. They could use cap room to renegotiate his ’25/26 salary in order to give him a raise and then extend him off of that figure. This is a legitimate option, given that the Grizzlies are in position to potentially carve out a little cap room.
  3. They could sign him to a super-max extension that starts anywhere between 30% and 35% of the cap. Although it’s typical for players who sign super-max deals to get the full 35%, a team doesn’t necessarily need to go that high — when Utah extended Rudy Gobert after he became super-max eligible with a Defensive Player of the Year win, for instance, his deal started at a little over 31% of the cap.

Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will also be eligible to sign a super-max contract extension this offseason — that would still be the case even if he doesn’t win this season’s MVP award or make an All-NBA team (he’ll almost certainly do both), since he achieved the performance criteria a year ago.

The Rose Rule and super-max performance criteria call for a player to earn All-NBA, MVP, or DPOY recognition in either the  preceding season or in two of the three preceding seasons, so Gilgeous-Alexander got there by making All-NBA teams in 2023 and 2024, even though he wouldn’t have enough years of service to sign his new deal until 2025.

No other stars are in position to meet that two-in-three-years criteria early this spring, like Gilgeous-Alexander did last year.

A player like Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards, for example, is on track to make his second straight All-NBA team, but won’t meet the years-of-service criteria for a super-max extension until 2027. That means that even if he earns an All-NBA spot this year, Edwards will have to do so again in either 2026 or 2027 to be eligible to sign that deal in ’27, since the 2024 nod won’t be counted within the preceding three seasons at that time.

We’re likely still a few weeks away from learning this year’s full All-NBA results. A year ago, the league announced those teams on May 22.

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Thunder Notes: Historic Comeback, Caruso, Holmgren, SGA

April 25th, 2025 at 4:02pm CST by Rory Maher

After two lopsided victories in their first-round series against Memphis, the Thunder found themselves in a major hole in the first half of Game 3. Oklahoma City trailed by as many as 29 points and entered halftime down 26.

“In the moment, it sucks,” All-Star Jalen Williams said, per Joel Lorenzi of The Oklahoman. “It’s not something that you want to make a habit of. But we also have extreme confidence in how we can play to kind of turn the tide.”

Aided in part by Ja Morant‘s hip injury, the Thunder were relentless on defense in the second half, forcing the Grizzlies into more turnovers (13) than made field goals (nine). Alex Caruso was at his best during that stretch, recording four steals in the final 14 minutes, Lorenzi adds.

“Our defense is our superpower,” Caruso said. “When we’re locked in on that side of the ball, we’re an unstoppable force.”

The Thunder ultimately pulled off the second-largest comeback in NBA playoff history, notes Justin Martinez of The Oklahoman. It was also the first time in playoff history that a team overcame a 26-point halftime deficit, according to Lorenzi.

Here’s more on the Thunder, who now hold a 3-0 lead on Memphis ahead of Saturday’s Game 4:

  • While much of the post-game focus was on Caruso’s excellent defensive work, head coach Mark Daigneault didn’t view his performance as out of the ordinary (Twitter video link via HoopsHype). “He changes every game he’s in,” Daigneault said of Caruso. “He’s like that every night, he’s like that in a preseason game, he’s constantly engaged in the competition and the size of the stage or the pressure of the game doesn’t impact him at all.”
  • In a column that was publishd prior to Game 3 and looks prescient in retrospect, Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman explained why he believed Caruso was the “perfect playoff player” for Oklahoma City. “I feel like I’m one of the great competitors in this league,” Caruso said Tuesday. “I might not be in the top half, quarter, wherever you want to put it talent-wise… but as far as competing and putting it all out there and trying to win, I’m in the elite group of that.”
  • Big man Chet Holmgren finished the first half with one point and missed all four of his field goal attempts, but he caught fire in the second half, scoring 23 points, including 16 in the third quarter, as Tim MacMahon of ESPN relays. “Mark changed the trajectory of the game,” Holmgren said. “Trusted me in calling a play for me to bomb one at the half after the s— storm I put up in the first half. Credit to him for that. Once I saw one go in, I felt good.”
  • While the Thunder are in good shape heading into Saturday’s contest, star guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has surprisingly struggled with efficiency thus far in the playoffs. In a detailed film breakdown, Rylan Stiles of SI.com says Gilgeous-Alexander has simply been missing shots he normally makes and isn’t worried about how he’ll fare for the rest of the postseason.
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Grizzlies Notes: Game 1 Loss, Morant, Bagley

April 22nd, 2025 at 12:28pm CST by Luke Adams

After falling behind by as many as 56 points, the Grizzlies lost by 51 to the Thunder on Sunday in Game 1 of their first-round series. However, as Tim MacMahon of ESPN and Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal write, Memphis’ players didn’t seem demoralized by the loss in the locker room after the game.

Star point guard Ja Morant vowed, “We will never play that bad again,” while wing Desmond Bane spoke about the need to “turn the page fast” ahead of Tuesday’s Game 2.

“At the end of the day, it’s one game,” Bane said on Sunday. “If we lose by 50 or lose on a buzzer-beater, the series is still 1-0. Not the result we wanted for sure, but still got a good opportunity to get one on the road in two days.”

Grizzlies big man Jaren Jackson Jr., the team’s most valuable player during the regular season, had his worst game of the season in Game 1, with four points, three rebounds, and three turnovers. He’s not expecting a repeat of that showing.

“In every area, I can get better,” Jackson said, according to William Guillory of The Athletic. “There’s so much room for improvement after a loss like that. It’s definitely just one game. That’s how a series works. We can’t really overthink things in any way. … I’m going to figure out a way to play better and get myself involved in the series. Then, we’ll be good.”

Here’s more on the Grizzlies:

  • After the Grizzlies defeated Dallas in Friday’s play-in game, Morant referred to his right ankle sprain as a “difficult” injury and hinted that he wouldn’t have been on the court if it were a regular season contest. “Obviously, regular season games, it’s not win or go home,” Morant said (story via ESPN). “So this one was way more difficult — the whole process, like, learning what I would have to do to be able to get out there. I was kind of questioning it, but with our staff, the doctors, they gave me all the info I needed and [in the] simplest terms so I will understand.” Following Sunday’s Game 1 vs. Oklahoma City, Morant declined to say whether he was still receiving pain-killing injections for the ankle and dismissed the idea that the injury affected his performance. “It felt good,” he said, per MacMahon.
  • A trade-deadline acquisition, big man Marvin Bagley III averaged just 8.3 minutes per game in 12 appearances for the Grizzlies in the regular season. On Sunday, the former No. 2 overall pick racked up 17 points on 8-of-8 shooting in 16 minutes across the first three quarters. Bagley’s strong play was one of the few bright spots in an otherwise forgettable game and could earn him a longer look going forward, per Michael Wallace of Grind City Media. “Marvin’s performance was extremely encouraging,” interim head coach Tuomas Iisalo said. “In the absence of (injured forward) Brandon (Clarke), we have not been strong in those minutes. And it seems like we’ve found a solution with Marvin.”
  • Even if the Grizzlies play better for the rest of the series than they did in Game 1, the same will likely be true of Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who scored a season-low 15 points on 4-of-13 shooting on Sunday, writes Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic, noting that doesn’t bode well for Memphis.
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Thunder Notes: Game 1 Romp, SGA, Caruso, Dort, Wiggins

April 21st, 2025 at 7:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

In case anyone was wondering whether the Thunder truly have the goods to win the NBA championship, their Game 1 performance against the Grizzlies should dispel any doubt, Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today writes.

The Thunder tore a path of destruction with their dominating 131-80 victory, showing off their talent, depth, intensity, speed, ball movement and commitment to defend.

Among Western Conference playoff teams, the Thunder have the second-fewest combined games of playoff experience, Zillgitt notes. However, they have the talent to overcome that relative inexperience.

We have more on the Thunder:

  • The 51-point victory was the fifth-largest in NBA postseason history, The Associated Press notes. “We played to our identity,” Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said. “Nothing more, nothing less than that. We were who we were all year … and it’s going to be the key to our success, just staying true to who we are.”
  • Alex Caruso, one of the Thunder’s key offseason acquisitions, is grateful for the opportunity to be on a championship-level team, he told Rylan Stiles of Sports Illustrated. “Yeah, I felt confident from Day 1, just (general manager) Sam (Presti) saying all the things people have said about me before,” he said. “Just how much he appreciates what I do for the team, winning the little things and how that can rub off on teammates. I know that is a gift of mine, and that is something I really try to push to influence the rest of the team because I know how much value it carries. For sure, them seeking me out and bringing me here goes a long way.” Caruso didn’t take a shot in Game 1, but contributed four assists and three rebounds in 12 minutes.
  • Luguentz Dort isn’t one of the finalists for the Defensive Player of the Year award and Aaron Wiggins calls that “insane,” Joel Lorenzi of The Oklahoman tweets. “I do think there’s a lack of — I don’t wanna say attention to our team, but in terms of the way we played statistically defensively and the year we had, that doesn’t happen without elite defensive players,” Wiggins said. “Lu specifically is the main dude. He guards the best guards, the best wings, and even sometimes the forwards. I’ve watched him for years now not get credit for the work that he does.”
  • Gilgeous-Alexander, one of the finalists for the league’s MVP award, told Lorenzi that he wants to be considered an all-time great but needs to lift his team in the postseason to prove it. “I want to be one of the best basketball players ever when it’s all said and done,” he said. “Like, competitively I want to be, and selfishly I want to be. Those things don’t come without winning. At the root of me, I just like to win. As a kid going to open gym, I wanted to win every game (and) stay on the floor the whole time. When you lose, you come off. Playing soccer growing up, I hated when I lost and had to wait until next week to play again.”
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NBA Announces Finalists For 2024/25 Awards

April 20th, 2025 at 6:22pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Nuggets center Nikola Jokic are the three finalists for the league’s Most Valuable Player award this season, the league announced on Sunday (Twitter link).

While all three players put up monster numbers, Gilgeous-Alexander is generally considered the favorite to win the award due in large part to the Thunder’s team success this season. Oklahoma City won a league-high 68 regular season games, compared to 50 for Jokic’s Nuggets and 48 for Antetokounmpo’s Bucks.

The finalists for each award represent the top three vote-getters. The winners will be announced at a later date.

Here’s a rundown of the finalists for the major NBA awards voted on by media members:

Coach of the Year

  • Kenny Atkinson (Cavaliers)
  • J.B. Bickerstaff (Pistons)
  • Ime Udoka (Rockets)

Rookie of the Year

Sixth Man of the Year

Defensive Player of the Year

Most Improved Player

Clutch Player of the Year

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And-Ones: Clutch Player Award, NBA Europe, Award Picks, Oweh

April 15th, 2025 at 6:55pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The official candidates for Clutch Player of the Year have been revealed, NBA analyst Kevin O’Connor tweets. Here’s the list of candidates that voters can select for the award, as chosen by the league’s 30 head coaches:

Curry won the award last year.

We have more from around the international basketball world:

  • While the NBA is trying to establish a new league in Europe, NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum insists that the goal is not to replace the EuroLeague, Eurohoops relays via a Reuters interview. “Our goal is to create a commercially viable league that features high quality on -court competition and respects the rich tradition of European basketball. And we think that that will better serve fans and players on the continent,” Tatum said. He notes that there are major cities in Europe that don’t have a team where the NBA can establish roots. “There are big markets in Europe that aren’t being serviced today, where there are millions of basketball fans that aren’t being serviced,” he said. London, Paris, Berlin and Rome are among the candidates that NBA Europe considers as prime targets.
  • The Athletic’s John Hollinger reveals his award picks. He has Gilgeous-Alexander atop his MVP list and the Rockets’ Amen Thompson as his Defensive Player of the Year. O’Connor, writing for Yahoo Sports, has the same duo winning those awards. They also both have Stephon Castle taking Rookie of the Year honors, Payton Pritchard atop their Sixth Man of the Year lists, and Kenny Atkinson as Coach of the Year.
  • Kentucky junior guard Otega Oweh will test the draft waters, Jeff Goodman of Field of 68 tweets. Oweh averaged 16.2 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.6 steals this past season. He played his first two seasons at Oklahoma.
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