"Heater of a lifetime!": Fans amped for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander after capping off historic season with ESPYs Male Athlete of the Year

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is riding an incredible wave in what’s turning out to be the peak of his career. Even though the 2024–25 NBA season wrapped up more than three weeks ago, the OKC Thunder star isn’t done making headlines.

He added another major accolade to his growing list, winning the Best Male Athlete honor at the 2025 ESPY Awards.

Gilgeous-Alexander claimed the coveted honor over fellow nominees Saquon Barkley, Josh Allen and Shohei Ohtani. Following the announcement, social media was flooded with praise, celebrating his achievement, with one tweeting:

"SGA on the heater of a lifetime!"

SATOSHI•IS•A•CHAD

@SatoshiIsAChad

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SGA on the heater of a lifetime!

joey.

@JoeyS54018

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I can’t remember the last ball player that’s had a yr like SHAI

Gambit

@GambitMeta

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He keeps winning

Austin Graham

@adivraza

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Shai's performance is truly inspiring, he's setting the bar high for everyone.

Wesley MF Snipes

@WesleyMFSnipes

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Dude is a beast

brayK

@brayk47

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Greatest single season accolade wise or just probably ever

Apart from earning the latest accolades, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was named the 2024-25 NBA MVP after finishing the regular season with impressive averages of 32.7 points, 5.0 rebounds and 6.4 assists per game. His stellar performance, securing the scoring title and a spot on the All-NBA First Team, led the Thunder to the best record in the league.

SGA capped off his incredible season by earning Western Conference Finals MVP honors. He then dominated the NBA Finals, where he averaged 30.3 points, 4.6 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game to claim the Finals MVP award, leading the Thunder to their first NBA championship.

The Canadian star’s winning streak continued into the offseason. He was unveiled as one of the cover athletes for the latest edition of NBA 2K. Shortly after, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander made headlines again by signing the then-richest deal in league history, agreeing a four-year, $285 million contract extension with the OKC Thunder.

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Shai Gilgeous-Alexander gets trolled during the 2025 ESPYs

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has often faced criticism for his foul-drawing tactics and frequent trips to the charity stripe.

Even though Giannis Antetokounmpo led the league in free throw attempts during the regular season as well as the playoffs, SGA's attacked much more, being associated with terms like “free throw merchant”.

At the 2025 ESPYs, host Shane Gillis joined the naysayers with a nasty jab at the OKC Thunder star.

“SGA is here. Give it up for SGA. How are you, bro? And now, everybody sitting around him is in foul trouble."

While the crowd gasped at the joke, Gilgeous-Alexander laughed it off and showed no signs of taking any offense.