NBA All-Star Game starters were announced on Thursday night and to nobody’s surprise, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder was named as one of the two Western Conference backcourt starters.

In mid-December, Denver’s Nikola Jokic had a healthy lead on Gilgeous-Alexander in ESPN’s MVP straw poll, conducted several times over the course of each season by Tim Bontemps.

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.