The Denver Nuggets took down the first-place Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday night in a battle between MVP hopefuls Nikola Jokic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The Joker managed to outplay SGA, producing 35 points, 18 rebounds, and eight assists compared to 25 points for Gilgeous-Alexander.
The Serbian big man has been on an absolute heater lately and just made NBA history last week with a videogame stat line that we've never seen in the league. His nonchalant reaction to it was signature Jokic, but what he said following Monday's win did open some eyes as the superstar pursues a fourth MVP award.
Via Bennett Durando:
“This is my third or fourth year in a row, so … I don't know. I cannot control it. I will say that I think I'm playing the best basketball of my life, so if that's enough, it's enough. If not, the guy deserves it. He's really amazing.”
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That's just something we never hear from Nikola Jokic. But based on the numbers, he's not wrong. The Joker is averaging career highs in points and assists, posting 28.9 points, 13 rebounds, and 10.5 dimes per night. Yes, SGA leads the league in scoring with 32.9 PPG, but his rebounds and assists aren't close to Jokic.
As we know, the MVP award is of course based on team success as well and the Thunder are the top dog in the Western Conference. However, the Nuggets are in second place, despite being 11 games behind OKC.
Battles like Monday night where Jokic outdueled SGA will surely do a lot in his pursuit of another MVP trophy. But, it's also not the be-all to end all for the Serb. Gilgeous-Alexander fully deserves the award too, putting up consistent numbers on a nightly basis. He also just scored 40 against the Nuggets in a victory on Sunday.
We'll see what happens, but as Nikola Jokic voiced, he's playing the best basketball of his life. That will surely be considered when the 2024-25 NBA MVP is selected.