Stephen A. Smith acknowledged that Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic is the best in the league … but he doesn’t think the big man deserves to win MVP this 2023-24.
WHAT?
The veteran sports commentator makes his case why there are better options than Jokic to win MVP this season despite the dominance the Nuggets center has shown. Smith shared his belief that Jayson Tatum and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander are ahead of Jokic in the MVP race, at least in his perspective.
Nikola Jokic’s MVP Bid With Denver Nuggets
Jokic is currently the favorite to win MVP this season, and for good reason. The Serbian superstar is currently averaging 25.9 points, 12.2 rebounds, 9.2 assists and 1.2 steals per game. He’s shooting 58.1 percent from the field, 34.1 percent from deep and 82.0 percent from the free throw line.
With Jokic leading the way, the Nuggets are in contention to win the West. At the time of writing, they are 42-19 on the season, only half a game behind the Minnesota Timberwolves for the top seed.
The Nuggets have been showing throughout the season why they are the reigning NBA champions, and Jokic is at the core of that brilliant campaign.
Considering his consistency and just overall impact on the Nuggets, it’s hard to see anyone pulling ahead of him in the MVP battle.
Stephen A. Smith Snubs Denver Nuggets Star Nikola Jokic
Stephen A. Smith, however, thinks otherwise. While there is no doubt in his mind that Nikola Jokic is great, the ESPN commentator said that he sees Jayson Tatum having a bigger impact on a Boston Celtics team that is the best in the NBA.
Smith also mentioned Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as someone who is more valuable to the Thunder than Jokic is to the Nuggets.
“He’s the best in the game, he’s the standard. It doesn’t get more complimentary than that,” Smith said of Jokic, but then he picked Tatum as his MVP, via Denver Sports.
“To me, I look at Tatum… the Boston Celtics are the best team in basketball and he’s their best player. It’s not to take anything away from Jokic. We know how great he is and he always has to be in the conversation and he’s in line to potentially win it. But when you see Boston and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, I don’t think that’s an argument that can be dismissed because we recognize the greatness of Jokic.”
Sure enough, Stephen A.’s comments don’t make sense. If he sees Jokic as the best in the game, then why is he not his MVP favorite? The Nuggets are in contention for the best record in the West, which is currently a bloodbath considering the quality of teams in the conference.
Remove Jokic from the Nuggets and it’s hard to see them even contending for a playoff spot.
Stephen A. can certainly make a case for Tatum and SGA’s MVP case, but to put Jokic behind the two might just be exaggerating it.
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