This NBA season featured one of the closest MVP races in NBA history. The top two candidates, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokic, both had historical seasons.
Gilgeous-Alexander was the league’s leading scorer and led the Oklahoma City Thunder to the best record in the league. At the same time, Jokic had one of the most efficient and impactful offensive seasons ever. So, who deserves to hoist the Michael Jordan Trophy?
In this week’s one-on-one, contributors Jacob Hypke and Steffen White make the case for each candidate.
Nikola Jokic
By Jacob Hypke
Nikola Jokić deserves the NBA MVP award because, although Gilgeous-Alexander has had a phenomenal season, leading the NBA in points and win shares and fifth in defensive rating, no player is more valuable to their team than Jokić. He leads the Nuggets in points, rebounds, assists, steals, and is second in three-point percentage.
The Nuggets were 4-8 in the 12 games they played without Jokić, and the Oklahoma City Thunder were 5-1 in the six games they played without Gilgeous-Alexander. These numbers and all the categories in which Jokić leads Denver show that he is more valuable to his team. On an individual level, Jokić was 0.3 points away from becoming only the second player in NBA history to average over 30 points, 10-plus rebounds and 10-plus assists at 29.7 points per game.
Unfortunately, it is a close enough race between the two superstars that voter fatigue will give the edge to Gilgeous-Alexander.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
By Steffen White
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the best player on the best team in the league. The Thunder finished this season with a record of 68-14, tied for fourth-best all-time in league history. SGA is the heart and soul of the team, averaging over 30 points for the third year in a row.
He has consistently improved and has cemented himself as one of the league’s stars. The Thunder are an extremely young team, and the way he has led them has been nothing short of remarkable. Voter fatigue could also be an issue here. People want to see a new winner, and if it’s a toss-up, that will sway some voters to SGA.
