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Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s trophy haul keeps growing.
Gilgeous-Alexander, the Oklahoma City guard who is the reigning MVP and NBA Finals MVP, is the Clutch Player of the Year award winner for this season, the NBA announced Tuesday.
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It’s the first of what could be several awards for Gilgeous-Alexander in the coming weeks. He’s the heavy favorite to win a second straight MVP trophy — and because he’s a finalist there, he’s also a lock to make the All-NBA team for a fourth straight year.
“This award means a lot,” Gilgeous-Alexander said on NBC Sports, which aired the award announcement. “To get this award, you have to help your team win games late and what I’m about more than anything is winning games.”
Gilgeous-Alexander topped Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards and Denver’s Jamal Murray to win the clutch award.
Edwards didn’t reach the 65-game eligibility standard for most league awards like MVP and the All-NBA team — and unsuccessfully appealed for a waiver that would have put him on those ballots — but his candidacy for the clutch award wasn’t affected by that rule.
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Instead, the finalists for the clutch award were decided by a survey of the league’s coaches. That whittled the group down to 14 names, which were then placed onto the ballot that a panel of 100 reporters and broadcasters who cover the league filled out last week to decide the various awards.
Gilgeous-Alexander has been a contender for the clutch award since it was added to the league’s slate of trophies; he was third last season, eighth in 2024 and seventh in 2023.
And now, it’s his.
“I’m proud I get to hoist it,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “It means I’m effective out there.”
Gilgeous-Alexander becomes the fourth player to win the clutch award, which was added in tribute to Jerry West — the inspiration for the NBA’s logo and the player long known as “Mr. Clutch” as a nod to his exploits when the outcome of games was on the line.
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De’Aaron Fox (then of Sacramento, now of San Antonio) was the first clutch award recipient in 2023, followed by Golden State’s Stephen Curry in 2024 and New…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/gilgeous-alexander-wins-nbas-clutch-223010721.html
Author : TIM REYNOLDS
Publish date : 2026-04-21 22:30:00
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