Nikola Jokić is putting up record numbers. So why is he unlikely to be NBA MVP?
The three-time MVP has a strong case to win his fourth award. But that is to ignore the brilliance – and freshness – of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
On Sunday afternoon, two of the best teams in the NBA’s Western Conference faced off on national television. When it was over, the Oklahoma City Thunder had routed the Denver Nuggets 127-103, pulling away in the fourth quarter thanks to a barrage from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who had 40 points on the day. But because it was the NBA, the game was less about the teams and more about the stars at the center of the action – who just so happen to be the league’s top two MVP candidates.
Denver’s Nikola Jokić has been named NBA MVP three times in the past four years. That’s rarefied air. Only three men – Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain and Larry Bird – have won the award three times in a row. And only a small number of guys, including Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson and LeBron James, have won it three out of four years. The year Jokić didn’t win it during his streak, he lost a close vote to Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid in an especially heated contest that included accusations of racism.
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