Scottie Thompson clinches PBA Season 46 MVP award

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

For the first time since 2015, Barangay Ginebra San Miguel’s versatile superstar guard Scottie Thompson finally earned his first-ever Most Valuable Player (MVP) award.

The PBA multi-champion received the cherry on top after a stellar 2022 kick-off where he also won the Best Player of the Conference and the Finals MVP of the Governor’s Cup a few months ago.

Picked fifth overall by Ginebra, Thompson came in with a limited offensive skillset that came mostly from his aggressive drives going to the basket.

Transitioning to his second and third years in the PBA under the tutelage of the legendary head coach Tim Cone, Thompson’s game began to expand and added a more reliable perimeter shooting game.

During the 2018 season, Thompson quickly blossomed to star status in Ginebra and was the perfect fit alongside LA Tenorio’s crafty game.

It was also in the same season that Thompson received one of his first major awards in the PBA, the 2018 PBA Finals MVP.

Four years after, Thompson is now regarded as one of the superstars in the league, validated by his first MVP award.

Thompson bested TNT Tropang Giga’s Mikey Williams, Magnolia Hotshots’ Calvin Abueva, and NorthPort Batang Pier’s Robert Bolick for the ultimate PBA feat.

Aside from winning his maiden PBA MVP award, Thompson also broke the streak of San Miguel Beermen’s June Mar Fajardo after winning the last six awards during the past seasons.

Thompson was the clear favorite to win the award after garnering a total of 2,836 points from the PBA players, committee, and the press.