The case for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was simple. He’s the best player on an Oklahoma City Thunder team that had the best record this season and set a league mark for margin of victory. If that wasn’t enough, he also won the scoring title. That’s an MVP year.

Gilgeous-Alexander was announced Wednesday as the NBA’s Most Valuable Player, his first time winning the award. It’s now seven straight years that a player born outside the U.S. won MVP, extending the longest such streak in league history.

Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 32.7 points, 6.4 assists and five rebounds per game this season, leading the Thunder to a 68-14 record. The Thunder outscored teams by 12.9 points per game, the biggest margin in league history.

He becomes the second Canadian to win MVP; Steve Nash won it twice.

Denver’s Nikola Jokic — a winner of three of the last four MVP awards — was second, despite a season for the ages. He averaged 29.6 points, 12.7 rebounds and 10.2 assists per game, the first center to average a triple-double and the first player since all those stats were tracked to finish in the NBA’s top three in all three of those categories.

NFL

Colts’ owner Jim Irsay dies at age 65

Jim Irsay, the Indianapolis Colts’ owner who leveraged the popularity of Peyton Manning into a new stadium and a Super Bowl title, died Wednesday at age 65.

Irsay worked his way up through the organization, learning how to run a football team, restoring the Colts’ once-proud tradition to glory, all while battling health issues and addictions to alcohol and painkillers.

Pete Ward, Irsay’s longtime right-hand man, made the announcement in a statement, saying Irsay died peacefully in his sleep.

With the help of Hall of Fame general manager Bill Polian, Hall of Fame coach Tony Dungy and Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning, Irsay turned the Colts from a longtime laughingstock into a perennial title contender, even winning a Super Bowl title.

Tush push ban fails at owner meeting

Facing stiff resistance around the NFL, the tush push managed to move the chains and gain a fresh set of downs.

League owners narrowly failed to pass a proposal to prohibit the polarizing short-yardage strategy at their spring meetings in Minnesota, keeping the rulebook as is — and pleasing the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles.

The ban on offensive players from pushing, pulling, lifting, grasping or encircling a runner was supported by a 22-10 vote, according to a person with knowledge of the proceedings, speaking on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press because the details weren’t made public. That’s two votes short of the three-quarters majority required by league bylaws to pass it.

The health and safety committees for both the players and the owners and the league’s competition committee all unanimously recommended the proposal. Such a ban previously existed and was lifted 20 years ago because it was deemed too difficult to consistently enforce.

PWHL

Fleet assistant GM to lead Seattle expansion

Boston Fleet assistant GM Meghan Turner is switching coasts after being hired as the PWHL Seattle expansion franchise’s general manager and first employee, the league announced.

Turner spent the past two seasons working under Fleet GM Danielle Marmer, and earned an MBA during her college playing days at Quinnipiac. She went on to compete in the Canadian Women’s Hockey League and the PWHL’s precursor, PWHPA.

Turner’s hiring fills one of the PWHL’s two expansion team slots, with Vancouver’s GM position still open.

AUTO RACING

Penske fires top 3 after cheating scandal

Roger Penske attempted to close the latest cheating scandal engulfing his race team — this one at his beloved Indianapolis 500 — by firing his top three executives at Team Penske after two of the Penske cars were found to be illegal.

Penske fired team president Tim Cindric, IndyCar managing director Ron Ruzewski and IndyCar general manager Kyle Moyer in the wake of this Indianapolis 500 cheating scandal.

Penske is owner of the three-car team, IndyCar, Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Indy 500. He has won the Indy 500 a record 20 times.

IndyCar is exploring the creation of an independent governing body absent of any Roger Penske employees.

BRIEFLY

MILB >> The Saints game Wednesday against Norfolk at CHS field was postponed for rain; makeup game is scheduled as a second game Saturday.

SOCCER >> Last-minute transfer signings are open to all 32 teams going to the Club World Cup in the United States next month, FIFA said, likely fueling more speculation that one of them will try to sign Cristiano Ronaldo on a short-term deal.

EUROPA LEAGUE >> Tottenham beat Manchester United 1-0 to win the Europa League final and lift its first European trophy in more than four decades.

WNBA >> Golden State Valkyries guard Tiffany Hayes was helped off the court late in the second quarter against the Washington Mystics after taking an arm to the face from Shakira Austin and going down for several minutes.

— From news services