Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has won the 2025-26 Clutch Player of the Year award, the NBA announced Tuesday. Gilgeous-Alexander is the fourth winner in the award’s short history, joining De’Aaron Fox in 2023, Stephen Curry in 2024 and Jalen Brunson in 2025. That makes the NBA four-for-four with different winners of the still-young Jerry West Trophy.
Gilgeous-Alexander, who garnered 96 of 100 first-place votes, was about as easy a choice for this award as any winner you’ll see. He led the NBA with 175 clutch points this season, but here’s the kicker: the Thunder blew opponents out so frequently that he appeared in only 27 clutch games. The next-leading clutch scorer, Jamal Murray, appeared in 38 clutch games. The only top-20 clutch scorer to appear in fewer games than Gilgeous-Alexander was Anthony Edwards, who played in 24 and scored 135 clutch points.
Gilgeous-Alexander played in 68 total games this season, but only needed to appear in 42 fourth quarters. One could therefore argue that the most clutch thing a player can do is avoid clutch situations entirely. Of course, within the clutch situations he appeared in, Gilgeous-Alexander was sensational and finished ahead of Jamal Murray and Anthony Edwards in the voting
In addition to that league-leading scoring figure, Gilgeous-Alexander led the defending champion Thunder to a 20-7 record in those clutch games. He shot 51.5% from the floor and added 21 assists, 16 rebounds, four steals and two blocks. The Thunder won his clutch minutes by a staggering 93 points. He was the only player in the NBA with a clutch plus-minus above 80.
Gilgeous-Alexander was named as a finalist for two major individual awards. The first was Clutch Player of the Year, which seemed in hand for the entire season. The other was the one he won a year ago: Most Valuable Player. He is a finalist for the NBA’s most notable individual honor alongside Nikola Jokić and Victor Wembanyama, though an announcement for the Michael Jordan trophy has not yet been scheduled. It typically comes a bit deeper into the playoffs.
Victor Wembanyama unanimously named NBA Defensive Player of the Year — and it should be the first of many
Sam Quinn
For now, Gilgeous-Alexander adds a trophy he hadn’t yet won, and its namesake, West, is a player Gilgeous-Alexander is chasing up the historical ladder. Gilgeous-Alexander, like West, is currently a one-time MVP and champion, though that could change on both fronts over the next few months. Gilgeous-Alexander is building a resume few guards in league history have ever matched, and this trophy is yet another to throw in his steadily growing pile.
