⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Tom's Title Tiers: #11
Why I listed (gasp!) Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as my MVP in the ESPN straw poll.
After the Oklahoma City Thunder’s dud in the NBA Cup championship, I take stock in the Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s MVP campaign. Is he the MVP so far? I voted him in ESPN’s MVP straw poll and stuck to my guns. Let me explain why I picked the point guard on my ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ title favorite.
Welcome to another edition of Tom’s Title Tiers! New year, same schedule. First thing every Monday morning, your inbox will have my tiered rankings of every title contender with a longer focus on one team per week.
A reminder: This is my subjective list based largely on objective data. This is not a pure, analytical ranking. You’re here because you want to know what I think, to get inside my brain a little bit. Consider this a weekly report of what I see on film; what I glean from the numbers; what I hear on the phone; what I read in the news; what I feel.
This week’s featured squad: the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Here’s a quick rundown of each tier.
Tom’s Title Tiers
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This is a complete team, no notes.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Just missing that one thing.
⭐️⭐️⭐️ One move away from being one move away.
⭐️⭐️ So much has to break right.
⭐️ Sooo you’re saying there’s a chance.
This week, I look deeper at OKC’s point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder’s five-star status. Who are the four teams that moved around?