In mid-December, Denver’s Nikola Jokic had a healthy lead on Gilgeous-Alexander in ESPN’s MVP straw poll, conducted several times over the course of each season by Tim Bontemps.

On the door step of being named an NBA All-Star Starter for the second time in his career, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander pulled off another milestone feat during the

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander looked every bit the MVP in putting up 54 points on the Jazz Wednesday night — the first 50-point game of his career. That big number was fueled by SGA getting to the free throw line and hitting 17-of-18 on the night.