Leaning against a wall inside Las Vegas' T-Mobile Arena on Monday afternoon before facing Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA Cup final, Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander delivered a message to this season's MVP voters.
"Nothing matters in this game if you don't win," Gilgeous-Alexander, the leader of the top team in the Western Conference, told ESPN. "And the award is finished being selected before the playoffs are finished, so those games don't go into it. So I think it should matter a lot.
"There's so many talented guys in the league, so many guys that can put up numbers, but winning is what sets you apart, and it's been that way in the past.