The achievements for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the reigning MVP from the Oklahoma City Thunder, continue to mount. He reached the significant milestone of scoring 3,000 points for the season during Game 2 of the NBA Finals on Sunday with his first basket of the match.

This achievement was officially recorded after netting a 10-footer with 8:24 remaining in the opening quarter. Gilgeous-Alexander had entered the game needing only two points, following a strong performance of 38 points in his team’s Game 1 against the Indiana Pacers.

Although he met the statistical requirement during Game 1, when playing in the NBA Cup games, those stats do not contribute to season totals until they occur in a regular playoff or season game.

This historic moment signifies the 25th time a player has scored 3,000 points in a season in NBA history. Icons such as Michael Jordan achieved this benchmark ten times, while Wilt Chamberlain did so five times, and several others, including Bob McAdoo, Elgin Baylor, James Harden, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kevin Durant, Kobe Bryant, Luka Doncic, Rick Barry, and Shaquille O’Neal, have done it once.

Gilgeous-Alexander is notably the fourth player to reach this mark while also contributing 600 assists or more in the same season, joining Jordan, Doncic, and Harden in that elite group.

At just 26, Gilgeous-Alexander has claimed the MVP award for a season where he averaged 32.7 points per game, leading with 2,484 points scored. His playoff performance, totaling 548 points, has also been unmatched this year. Additionally, he averaged five rebounds and 6.4 assists per game during the regular season, with improvements in the playoffs to 5.6 and 6.8 average respectively.

This marks a significant year for the Thunder, guiding them to a record 68-14 during the regular season and reaching their first Finals since the 2011-2012 season.

The series remains tied at 1-1, with the next game scheduled in Indiana for Wednesday.