Jalen Williams continued his hot streak in Thursday's NBA Finals Game 6 with a top show in Q1, helping the Oklahoma City Thunder to stay in touching distance of the Indiana Pacers after a poor start. While MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored a combined 66 points in Games 4 and 5, Williams has tallied 67 points over the same span, including a 40-point outburst in Game 5. Now the legitimate question stands: Is Jalen Williams going to take home the Finals MVP?

SGA is an obvious favorite for MVP after winning the title in the regular season. For Jalen Williams, a lot depends on how he performs on Thursday. In Game 6, the 24-year-old has averaged 25.8 PPG, 5.6 RPG, and 4.2 APG this series. His rise in the last three games has been exceptional. 

Meanwhile, SGA is averaging 32.4 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 5.0 APG, 2.4 SPG, and 1.8 BPG. So, it's not like the Canadian star has struggled. The Finals MVP race comes down to how Game 6 and potentially Game 7 play out. 

Here is TheScore Bet/ESPN Bet's oddsboard, showing odds before and during the Finals. 

Finals MVP odds (current odds and before Finals)

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander -550 -600

Jalen Williams +650 +4000

Pascal Siakam +1100 +1800

Tyrese Haliburton +5000 +700

Chet Holmgren +20000 +6600

How is NBA Finals MVP determined?

The NBA Finals MVP, awarded the Bill Russell Trophy, is determined by a select panel of media members, not through public voting. As such, fans cannot directly vote for the NBA Finals MVP. 

The MVP is chosen by a panel of 11 media members—a mix of national and international journalists, local beat writers, and broadcasters covering the Finals. After the final game of the NBA Finals, each panelist casts a single vote for the player they deem most deserving based on their performance throughout the series. 

The player with the highest number of votes wins the award. There is no weighted point system (unlike regular-season MVP voting), and the process ensures no ties, as 11 votes prevent a deadlock. 

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