Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokić continue to set the Kia MVP pace for each other and the rest of the field.

But the lowly Utah Jazz pushed Gilgeous-Alexander further on Wednesday. With both of Oklahoma City's centers sidelined due to injury and the bulk of the roster struggling to make

NBA.com released their latest Kia NBA MVP ladder and the rankings continue to be unfavorable towards Jokic. Jan. 24's edition of the regular installment featured Oklahoma City Thunder superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander retaining his spot at the top of the list.

After the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Washington Wizards in a 136-95 blowout win, All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander weighed in on his place in the Most Valuable Player conversation. During his postgame media availability, Gilgeous-Alexander addressed being an MVP candidate.

The players announced to start for the Western Conference are Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder, Kevin Durant of the Phoenix Suns, LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers, and Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has sat at the very top of the NBA MVP rankings over the last several weeks. This battle between him, Nikola Jokic, and Giannis Antetokounmpo has been close, but now there is a wide gap between Gilgeous-Alexander and the rest of the field.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander dismissed concerns about his free-throw statistics, emphasizing that his sole focus was on ensuring the Oklahoma City Thunder came out on top.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Stephen Curry were voted as the backcourt representatives in the Western Conference.

The NBA announced the Western Conference starters for the 2025 All-Star Game, happening Feb. 16 at the Chase Center in San Francisco.

Now that every team will have hit the 41-game mark Friday night, it's time to honor the best performers from the season's first half. Without further ado, here are our midseason award winners ... The Midseason MVP is

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and LeBron James were named among the starters for next month's NBA All-Star Game on Thursday (Friday in Manila).