Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokić continue to set the Kia MVP pace for each other and the rest of the field.

But the lowly Utah Jazz pushed Gilgeous-Alexander further on Wednesday. With both of Oklahoma City's centers sidelined due to injury and the bulk of the roster struggling to make

NBA.com released their latest Kia NBA MVP ladder and the rankings continue to be unfavorable towards Jokic. Jan. 24's edition of the regular installment featured Oklahoma City Thunder superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander retaining his spot at the top of the list.

After the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Washington Wizards in a 136-95 blowout win, All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander weighed in on his place in the Most Valuable Player conversation. During his postgame media availability, Gilgeous-Alexander addressed being an MVP candidate.

The players announced to start for the Western Conference are Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder, Kevin Durant of the Phoenix Suns, LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers, and Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has sat at the very top of the NBA MVP rankings over the last several weeks. This battle between him, Nikola Jokic, and Giannis Antetokounmpo has been close, but now there is a wide gap between Gilgeous-Alexander and the rest of the field.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander dismissed concerns about his free-throw statistics, emphasizing that his sole focus was on ensuring the Oklahoma City Thunder came out on top.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Stephen Curry were voted as the backcourt representatives in the Western Conference.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored a career-high 54 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Utah Jazz 123-114 on Wednesday night.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander became the first Oklahoma City Thunder player to post a half-century of points since Russell Westbrook had 50 against the Denver Nuggets in 2017

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored a career-high 54 points, leading the Thunder to victory while expressing room for improvement in his performance.