Nuggets lose another major award to SGA

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander won Clutch Player of the Year over Jamal Murray on Tuesday, and he's expected to beat Nikola Jokic for MVP next, too

BY JAKE SHAPIRO

Apr 21, 2026, 4:20 PM

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Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added another piece of hardware to his trophy case Tuesday, and it came at the expense of the Denver Nuggets.

The Oklahoma City Thunder star was named the NBA’s Clutch Player of the Year, edging out Denver’s Jamal Murray and Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards for the honor. The award goes to the best player in the final five minutes of games with the score within five points. Gilgeous-Alexander becomes the fourth different winner in the award’s four-year history, following New York’s Jalen Brunson, Golden State’s Stephen Curry, and Sacramento’s De’Aaron Fox.

For Murray, the loss was expected but stings. The Nuggets guard was second in the league in clutch scoring with 166 total points in tight games down the stretch, doing so with an elite effective field goal percentage of 60.3%. It was the best season of his career — he averaged 25.4 points, 7.1 assists and 4.4 rebounds per game, all career highs — and he delivered a string of late-game heroics that helped Denver finish third in the Western Conference at 54-28.

Gilgeous-Alexander led the NBA with 175 total clutch points and 6.5 points per game in clutch time, while leading the league’s top team. SGA also made an NBA-leading 16 go-ahead field goals in clutch time.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the fourth different Kia NBA Clutch Player of the Year winner in the award’s four seasons.

A global media panel of 100 voters made the selection.

Complete voting results ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/1vu3ixK1pJ

— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) April 21, 2026

It also won’t be the last time the Nuggets come up short against Gilgeous-Alexander in an awards race this spring. Nikola Jokic, the three-time MVP, is expected to finish behind the Thunder guard in Most Valuable Player voting for the second year in a row, despite averaging 27.7 points per game and leading the league in rebounds and assists per game. San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama is the third MVP finalist.

Denver still has a real shot at one major award. Reserve Tim Hardaway Jr. is a finalist for Sixth Man of the Year alongside Miami’s Jaime Jaquez Jr. and San Antonio’s Keldon Johnson. Hardaway led the league in made 3-pointers off the bench, tallying more than 200 on nights he didn’t start, and scored the fourth-most points in the league off the pine.

Sixth Man of the Year will be awarded Wednesday, MVP will come out at a later date.