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

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.

The Knicks and Nuggets are surging, while the Warriors watch their window close. Meanwhile, the Cavs and Thunder have their business on lock.

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.

Former NBA player Kendrick Perkins is a fan of OKC Thunder's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. On Thursday's episode of "NBA Today," Perk spoke highly of Gilgeous-Alexander and predicted he could be the next face of the league. His comments came after the two-time All-Star led the Thunder to a 123-114 victory over the Utah Jazz on Wednesday.

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.

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

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ... the 2016-17 MVP award. Gilgeous-Alexander is also competing for an MVP, and conveniently enough, he's doing it against a member of the Nuggets. Nikola Jokic has won ...

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored a career-high 54 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Utah Jazz 123-114 on Wednesday night.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored a career-high 54 points, leading the Thunder to victory while expressing room for improvement in his performance.