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

The Knicks and Nuggets are surging, while the Warriors watch their window close. Meanwhile, the Cavs and Thunder have their business on lock.

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.

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.

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.

Has Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander already locked up the NBA’s MVP award? After turning in a career-high 54-point game in OKC’s win over the

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.

Lakers star LeBron James and leading vote-getter Giannis Antetokounmpo highlighted the NBA All-Star starters who were unveiled Thursday night.

James — a pick for 21 straight years — now has two more selections than anyone else in NBA history (Abdul-Jabbar was a 19-time pick) and is three years clear of anyone else for the longest streak of consecutive selections. Kobe Bryant was picked for 18 consecutive games, the second-longest such streak.

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