Opening night NBA MVP Power Rankings

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander made the superstar leap last season, averaging 31.4 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 5.5 assists on .510/.345/.905 splits. The numbers say a lot, but maybe not enough. Gilgeous-Alexander also emerged, rather quietly, as a top-tier defender. Stronger than he looks and blessed with a rangy 6-foot-11 wingspan, Gilgeous-Alexander can erase passing lanes and completely stifle ball-handlers at the point of attack. The Oklahoma City Thunder's defensive credit tends to get directed at Lu Dort, but Gilgeous-Alexander is as good — maybe even better — all while being a one-man offensive engine.

OKC finished last season 40-42, good for the No. 9 seed and a play-in berth. OKC was one win away from the first postseason appearance of the current era. Now, the young core is a year older. Chet Holmgren arrives as the defensive anchor OKC desperately lacked in the middle. Vasilije Micic arrives as a former EuroLeauge MVP and potentially game-changing reserve. The Thunder, despite their bevy of picks and cavernous cap space, are ready to win now.

There's a difference between having the pieces and actually winning, of course. There is a tendency for young groups to struggle and OKC, despite the obvious talent, is still young. A lot will fall on Gilgeous-Alexander's shoulders. He is the leader, the centerpiece of a dynamic and uniquely built offense. Fresh off a bronze medal run with the Canadian national team, Gilgeous-Alexander is prepared to make another leap — from superstar to megastar, from top-10 to top-five — but it will require a full team effort to land OKC high enough in the standings for a legitimate SGA MVP push.

Market size is almost an unfortunate factor. Generally, voters are smart enough to look past TV ratings when a player is dominant (Jokic did win back-to-back MVPs in Denver), but the Thunder are not naturally positioned in the NBA limelight. Gilgeous-Alexander can match any candidate statistically, and he's a one-man highlight machine to boot, but it's a factor worth mentioning.

What cements Gilgeous-Alexander on these power rankings, despite extremely talented competition from Doncic, Tatum, and others, is his ability to play both sides of the ball and his value relative to his teammates. Gilgeous-Alexander is arguably the best isolation scorer in the sport, discombobulating defenders with sharp changes in speed and direction before deploying his unique length to carve out angles to the basket. He scores at every level (the 3-point progression is huge), he's a tier-one rim finisher at his position, and he will regularly leverage his gravity to create for teammates (even if his assist numbers end up muted due to OKC's unique breadth of ball-handlers).