Nikola Jokic rarely appears visibly uncomfortable on a basketball court, but the annual discussion surrounding the league`s Most Valuable Player award is one of those rare instances.
His expression clearly shows discomfort when the topic of MVP is brought up, and he dismisses questions about the award as quickly as he executes one of his signature no-look passes. Jokic has finished among the top five MVP candidates in six of the last seven seasons, winning the award three times. Yet, this year, he did something unexpected.
He actually presented his own argument for winning the award.
“I think I`m playing the best basketball of my life. So if that`s enough, it`s enough,” Jokic commented on March 10, following the Denver Nuggets` 140-127 win against his main challenger for this year`s honor, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder.
“If not, [Gilgeous-Alexander] deserves it. He`s really amazing.”
Nowhere in that statement did Jokic express a personal desire to claim what would be his fourth MVP trophy, which would place him alongside LeBron James and Wilt Chamberlain. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar holds the record with six, while Michael Jordan and Bill Russell each have five.
He also didn`t mention that winning it would hold significant personal importance.
Jokic`s reasoning was simple: he believes he played better this season than ever before. If one agrees with this premise – that he surpassed his performance from his three previous MVP-winning years – then logically, he should win again.
And based on nearly every metric, his assertion is valid.
Besides averaging a triple-double and leading the league with 33 of them this season, Jokic ranked in the top three for scoring (29.6), rebounds (12.7), assists (10.2), and steals (1.8). He was also among the top 20 players in 3-point percentage (41.7%). No player had ever achieved this unique statistical combination before, as he continues to rewrite the NBA record books.
However, there`s a notable difference this year compared to his previous three wins – a factor that complicates what might otherwise be an open-and-shut case.
Gilgeous-Alexander also had an extraordinary season. He led the league in scoring (32.7 points per game) and played elite defensive basketball, guiding the youngest team in the NBA to 68 wins with the largest average margin of victory in league history (plus-12.9 PPG), surpassing the mark set by the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers.
This sets up a classic MVP scenario: the best player performing statistically vs. the best player on the league`s top team.
The only period where the debate truly intensified was when the Nuggets and Thunder played back-to-back games on March 9 and 10, splitting the contests.
Gilgeous-Alexander presented his case with 40 points, 8 assists, and 3 steals in the nationally televised March 9 win, remarking afterward, “I love MVPs, I love All-Stars, I love all the accolades that come with it, but none of it matters if you don`t win.”
Jokic countered the next night with 35 points, 18 rebounds, and 8 assists as the Nuggets secured a win in the less publicized game.
For a couple of days, every sports show debated the contenders, teammates publicly supported their stars, and voters had a month to evaluate everything before casting their ballots. Since then, both players have been quick to compliment each other on their exceptional seasons.
But any previous MVP debate has now given way to the upcoming playoff drama.
This second-round matchup between the Thunder and the Nuggets will bring the MVP conversation back into focus, starting with Game 1 in Oklahoma City on Monday night. The MVP award is scheduled to be announced during a live TNT broadcast within this playoff round.
This means Gilgeous-Alexander and Jokic (and Giannis Antetokounmpo, the third finalist) will likely be asked to join a livestream to hear the announcement of basketball`s most prestigious individual award precisely when their complete attention has shifted to achieving team success.
“It is the last thing on both of our minds,” Jokic said Saturday night after the Nuggets clinched their hard-fought first-round series against the LA Clippers in Game 7.
The votes for the award were submitted long ago. Historically, winning the MVP hasn`t guaranteed an NBA title; no MVP winner has also won the championship since Stephen Curry did in 2015. In fact, none of the last nine MVP winners have advanced past the conference finals.
However, when questioned specifically about Gilgeous-Alexander as a player, Jokic was much more open to discussing him.
“He`s a very different player,” Jokic stated. “He operates on so many different levels – his speed, his scoring ability. Everything looks so easy for him. Even when you think, `Oh, that`s good defense,` it still feels effortless for him. He`s amazing with changing pace, changing rhythm, and his ball-handling. He can post up opponents, drive past defenders, and his mid-range jumper is essentially unstoppable. He`s a truly special player.”
Gilgeous-Alexander has handled the attention surrounding the MVP race with a different approach. He has acknowledged how much winning the award would mean to him and expressed a desire to win. However, each time he does, he quickly reiterates that the ultimate goal that truly matters to him is the Thunder`s success as a team.
This has left the task of campaigning largely to others. Former Denver coach Michael Malone traditionally served as Jokic`s public advocate. But after his unexpected dismissal late in the season, Nuggets swingman Christian Braun took over that role.
“I think that Nikola had maybe the greatest season ever,” Braun said Saturday night. “I don`t know if you`ll ever see a player do what he did in one single regular season again. They were both great. The Thunder are an amazing team, Shai is an amazing player. So there isn`t a wrong choice. But to see what Nikola did night in and night out, I don`t know that you`ll ever see that again.”
Back in December, Thunder center Chet Holmgren simply tweeted, “Lu Dort for DPOY and Shai for MVP or we riot.”
This creates an interesting subplot to the upcoming series, one that both primary contenders will likely attempt to ignore.
When asked if he believed Jokic cared about winning the award, Braun responded, “I know for a fact he doesn`t.”
Thunder coach Mark Daigneault agreed with that sentiment.
“I know Shai a lot better than I know Jokic,” Daigneault said Sunday afternoon. “But I think I know enough to know that neither one of them are going to get distracted by that. Both of them are going to be fully invested in the series. It`s a supplement to the series. But it`s really, it`s not part of the series at all.”
