Another day and another record creation from the 2025 MVP. And no, it’s not the GOAT debate, where Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has inserted himself after Michael Jordan and LeBron James. At least not yet, but with his pace and ability, who knows that he could come up in that debate. But right now, SGA is focused on winning his first championship, and even a defeat in Game 1 did not put a dent in his motivation. Because once again, in game 2 of the Finals, he emerged as the top scorer on the night.
In the first game, it was 38 points, but a missed game-winning shot led the Pacers to script their win. That performance also included 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals. In game 2, his 34 points did not go in vain, as the Thunder held out to a 16-point win, 123-107 at the PayCom Center. This time, he upped his other contributions to 5 rebounds, 8 assists, 4 steals, and even 1 block. But his uptick in the assists column tonight earned him a special place alongside MJ and LeBron.
Shai is now tied with arguably two greats of the game with 11 games in the postseason with 30 points and 5 assists. The Bulls legend did it in ’89 and ’90, meanwhile, the Lakers superstar has done so in 2015, ’17, and ’18. Plus, there is more achievement waiting for the Thunder guard as he ascends to his first championship.
Elite company for SGA pic.twitter.com/uhXWMbK4vf
— Oh No He Didn’t (@ohnohedidnt24) June 9, 2025
Keerthika Uthayakumar also added a stat about SGA’s domination that we have only seen from the Greek Freak. “Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has his 13th 30-point game of the playoffs, the most by any player in a single postseason since Giannis Antetokounmpo in 2021 (13).” Not to forget, he also edged ahead of LeBron James when the 2025 MVP reached 3,000 combined points between the regular season and postseason.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander bumped another legend on his way to winning the championship
With already a historic season with an All-Star nod and the All-NBA first team. Plus, the MVP trophy win over Nikola Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo, also adding to it the West Finals MVP and the scoring title. SGA is truly reminding everyone that he is here to stay. After leading the league in points per game throughout the regular season with 32.7 a night, he now broke the Allen Iverson record.
With his 34-point finish to Game 2, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has now set the record for most points ever scored by a player in their first two career NBA Finals games with 72. The Thunder star surpassed the previous record-holder, Iverson, and his 71 points. The 76ers legend scored it during the 2001 title-round face-off between the Philadelphia 76ers and the Los Angeles Lakers. However, AI was not able to win the gold against Shaq and Kobe led purple and gold outfit.
After game 1 loss, the Canadian star was still confident about his team. “We just got to focus on being better,” he said calmly. “This series isn’t first to 1, it’s first to 4, so we have four more games to get, they got three… It’s not rocket science. We lost Game 1. We have to be better.” The team responded to their leader as they crossed the line with a dominant win. And SGA, not surprisingly, entered himself in multiple record books, truly a MVP year.
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