The announcement of the NBA MVP award always stirs debate. This year is no different, with the selection of Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic has some fans and basketball pundits grumbling.
For the record, Jokic averaged 26.4 points, 12.4 rebounds and 9.0 assists per game on 58.3% shooting from the field during the regular season. Despite the absence of his co-star Jamal Murray for 23 games due to injury, Jokic led the Nuggets to a 57-25 record, the second-best mark in the Western Conference.
However, many believe the MVP trophy should have landed in the hands of Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Similar to Jokic, Shai had a monster season, averaging a hefty 30.1 points, 5.5 rebounds and 6.2 assists per game on 53.5% shooting from the field.
Shai also led the Thunder to a surprising 57-25 record, even holding the tiebreaker over Denver for the top seed in the West. This came despite pre-season predictions that the Thunder wouldn’t be a top contender, and they defied expectations by racking up a whopping 17-win improvement over their previous season’s record.
Adding to the debate, former NBA star Kevin Garnett chimes in with the basketball pundits who believe Shai deserves MVP over Jokic.
“It’s a regular season award, and usually… The best player on your team usually represents the best team… I thought Shai [Gilgeous-Alexander] should have had [the MVP].”
“It’s a regular season award, and usually… The best player on your team usually represents the best team… I thought Shai [Gilgeous-Alexander] should have had [the MVP].”
Kevin Garnett on Nikola Jokic winning the MVP
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— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) May 11, 2024
