PHOENIX — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander hadn’t sung such a tune all year.

Amid the best season of his career — an impossibly consistent scoring rampage and a notable two-way campaign — the sixth-year guard has mostly downplayed its historical significance. His Thunder factory settings dial into autopilot, an on-court leader mostly driven by the idea of reaching the postseason.

Yet after the Thunder’s Tuesday win over the Rockets, TNT’s Jared Greenberg asked where SGA stood on the MVP hype that’s begun to nearly spill over in Oklahoma City. The second Gilgeous-Alexander registered the three-letter acronym, he smiled.

“I love it,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “Obviously, it’s one of my goals I set out to have from when I was a little kid.”

Let that sink in. All season, Gilgeous-Alexander has been humbled by his inclusion in the discussion. Honored by what comes with it, which has at times included mention alongside fellow Canadian and two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash. With the regular season coming to a close in just over a month, SGA’s route to the award is palpable.

And he loves it.

Most would. It’s a crown jewel of sorts, a bronze sculpture that filters barbershop talk and ranks a bit higher as a conversation starter than that zebra rug your mom gave you for Christmas. It separates All-Stars and all-timers.

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What’s Gilgeous-Alexander’s path to hoisting the trophy? How close is it to being a reality?

With Joel Embiid — whose league-leading scoring and historical dominance were cut short by injuries — ultimately stripped of his status as MVP favorite with the NBA’s new 65-game threshold, the award race is perhaps as nuanced as it’s ever been.

There’s hardly a consensus among early ballots. Every argument that’s ever earned any MVP trophy has surfaced in this year’s race. Its order has begged a question among voters and fans: What do we value as basketball enjoyers?

There’s Nikola Jokic’s argument: The big man has become as close to the consensus best-player-on-Earth title as we've in some time. He’s within arms reach of the West’s first seed. It’s perhaps not his best statistical season, but his impact, especially with the time Jamal Murray has missed, reigns supreme.

Giannis Antetokounmpo's case is interesting, too. He might be the closest thing to Jokic in the NBA’s hierarchy, and he’s playing what feels like the best basketball of his career — it just so happens to be in a league with Jokic. Jayson Tatum is the best player on the league’s best regular-season team. Luka Doncic is posting mind-boggling numbers, all while his fellow starters have missed an incomparable number of combined games next to any other candidate.

Then there’s Gilgeous-Alexander.

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The All-NBA guard is averaging 31.2 points, 5.6 rebounds, 6.5 assists, a league-high 2.1 steals, and is shooting 39.2% from deep while playing in all but one game this season.

He’s cemented himself as one of the league’s best scorers, both with and without free throws. He’s developed a soul tie with the idea of scoring 31 points. His sleepy amble combined with a quick first step is still waiting to be figured out by anything less than some pact of three defenders.

On the other end, OKC’s lineup of defenders has allowed him to be one of the most effective off-ball guard defenders in the league. His 122 steals on the season aren’t being sniffed (Sacramento’s De’Aaron Fox is the closest with 99).

Along with a notable frontcourt addition in Chet Holmgren, Gilgeous-Alexander’s unwavering consistency has seen the Thunder go from being booted in last year’s play-in tournament to a firm seat contending for the West’s first seed — a Bermuda Triangle of a four-team whirlwind.

The Thunder began the season as one of the top-three youngest teams in the league. Nearly all of its key contributors are in their early 20s, even after OKC’s post-deadline moves. Gilgeous-Alexander has been the steadying presence on a team that looks to be doing a bit more than punching above its weight.

Gilgeous-Alexander has lifted himself into the top tier of the race. One that'll likely be decided by a heavy dose of preference.

If you’re old school, perhaps you place more weight in Tatum’s role on the 47-12 Celtics. If you’ve got love for the last great hope of successful heliocentric basketball, perhaps you put more faith in how much weight Doncic has hoisted on his back, especially if the Mavs jump out of the play-in.

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Can Shai Gilgeous-Alexander pass Nikola Jokic?

Gilgeous-Alexander might have a mix of argument for everyone. He’s playing his best statistical season, a campaign full of so many 30-point games that he’s only a handful away from surpassing Kevin Durant’s single-season Thunder total. His team is tied for first place in a rigid West, and he’s contributed to as large a team leap as any from season to season — turning what some expected to be an outside-looking-in, fringe postseason team into a possible contender.

But to firmly grasp the award, Gilgeous-Alexander likely needs to pull away during this final stretch with a display that edges that of Jokic. Gilgeous-Alexanders' competition is off to a tough start already. Out of the All-Star break, Jokic delivered a four-game stretch in which he averaged 24 points, 16 rebounds and 14 assists.

As of now, the Thunder doesn’t seem obsessed with its seeding. Its primary focus seems to be maintaining its health and overall complexion while headed toward a telling postseason. The nature of that objective could hurt SGA’s case. Slipping further from the first seed or coasting himself probably won’t help.

But if this final stretch is anything like the first chunk, Gilgeous-Alexander will hardly have any say in breaking his nightly, monotonous two-way spells.

With Gilgeous-Alexander’s case comes pushback. Weighing irrelevant past seasons, attempting to predict his impact in the playoffs as he approaches his first as a first option. Measuring just how real the Thunder’s success has been.

Gilgeous-Alexander waited this long to let people know his feelings about the buzz. Getting him to weigh in on his place among it all is a different story.

“I don’t know,” he told Greenberg when asked where he ranked, “I’ma let you guys decide.”

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Thunder at Suns

TIPOFF: 8:30 p.m. Sunday at Footprint Center in Phoenix (Bally Sports Oklahoma)

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: How OKC Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander stacks up in NBA MVP race