According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, Oklahoma City Thunder’s own superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has won this year’s NBA Most Valuable Player Award. Winning it almost convincingly with 83 out of the 100 first place votes going to the back-to-back MVP winner.

“It’s special,” Gilgeous-Alexander said of joining such exclusive company. “All those guys have shaped the game of basketball. All those guys have changed the game and how it’s played and how it was approached before that. To be in just that circle, to be in that conversation, it’s something that I don’t take lightly. I’m super grateful for it.”

The 27-year-old becomes the fourteenth player in NBA history to win the award in consecutive seasons. Impressively enough, which speaks to the growth of this franchise great, has been top-5 in MVP voting in each of the past four seasons.

Victor Wembanyama and Nikola Jokic were the other two award finalists.

This season, Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 31.1 points, 4.3 rebounds, 6.6 assists, and 1.4 steals in 68 games.

According to Marc Stein, former Portland Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts would love to make a return to the franchise since his firing in 2021. This comes at a time where the organization is trying to secure their next coach for the foreseeable future.

Stotts recently left his assistant coach role within the Golden State Warriors, which props him up as a potential candidate for one of the top coaching jobs in the league.

“I would love to come back to the Blazers and Portland,” Stotts texted longtime Blazers reporter Dwight Jaynes. It was also aired out by Jaynes that Stotts had his agent reach out to the Portland organization to express his interest in the job.

The 68-year-old was the coach for nine seasons, spanning from 2012-2021. In that timeline, he built a 402-318 regular season record, plus leading his team to eight straight playoff appearances.

According to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, the Cleveland Cavaliers and James Harden are reportedly expected to come together on an agreement surrounding the veteran guard’s future within the organization.

It’s widely believed Harden will sign a multi-year contract extension this upcoming offseason in the summer; while nothing can be signed now, a verbal agreement can be made.

A reduced yearly salary in exchange for more guaranteed money over more seasons could help the Cavaliers manage its second-apron obligations. Cleveland carries the league’s largest payroll at $226 million, exceeding $280 million including the luxury tax.

This season, the 36-year-old averaged 20.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 7.7 assists in 26 games for Kenny Atkinson’s team.