Arkansas HC John Calipari sends clear message following Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's NBA MVP win

Arkansas coach John Calipari always keeps up with his former players and tries to celebrate their success as much as he can. Following Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's MVP season in the NBA, the coach sent a message showing support and love for the star.

On Wednesday, the NBA announced that Gilgeous-Alexander had won his first MVP award, beating the likes of Nikola Jokic, who previously won the award three times.

"THREE LETTERS. SGA = MVP YOUR 2024-25 #KiaMVP, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander!" the NBA posted on X (formerly Twitter).

Shai's college coach, Calipari, reposted the league's announcement and congratulated the Oklahoma City Thunder guard on his achievement.

"I’m so proud of Shai. He earned the MVP through his work, competitive spirit, championship demeanor, along with being a GREAT TEAMMATE!!! Congrats @shaiglalex," Calipari tweeted.

Gilgeous-Alexander spent one year playing for John Calipari at Kentucky during the 2017-18 season. He averaged 14.4 points, 4.1 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game for the Wildcats, who finished 26-11, winning the SEC Tournament.

He was drafted by the Charlotte Hornets with the No. 11 pick in the 2018 draft but stayed there for one season before being traded to the Los Angeles Clippers.

John Calipari spent 15 seasons with the Wildcats before moving to Arkansas last year.

Former John Calipari assistant says coach deserves statue for his Memphis success

Although John Calipari did not win a national title during his stint at Memphis, one of his former assistants while with the Tigers believes the coach deserves a statue for what he did for the program.

Last week, Calipari hinted at his potential return to Memphis with his Arkansas team for a preseason exhibition game, which has been under discussion.

Josh Pastner, now the head coach of the UNLV Runnin' Rebels and a former assistant under Calipari, weighed in on the news of Calipari returning to Memphis.

"Let me say this about Coach Calipari — what he did here for his whole time, but especially his last four years, it’s unbelievable," Pastner said, per Commercial Appeal. "They should build a statue for Coach. Put his name up in the rafters. Hopefully, they’ll honor him in a high-level way."

Calipari coached Memphis for nine seasons, leading the program to the NCAA Tournament six times, including two Elite Eight appearances. The Tigers lost only 14 times in his final four seasons, winning 137 games. However, the 38-2 season in 2007–08 was later vacated by the NCAA.