After Nikola Jokic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander battled it out twice this week, the MVP debate has been well and truly reignited.
In the two games against each other, this is how they both fared:
Jokic: 59 points on 58.1% shooting (3-of-13 from 3), with 31 rebounds, 17 assists, four blocks and two steals.Gilgeous-Alexander: 65 points on 50% shooting (5-of-18 from 3) with 11 rebounds, 12 assists, five blocks and two steals.
OKC won the first game 127-103 on Sunday night, while Jokic made sure the Nuggets got the revenge 140-127 win a couple of days later.
The big man himself admitted that his basketball has reached new heights this season, but as he is with most things NBA related, he was pretty nonchalant about the MVP battle.
“This is my third or fourth year in a row, so I’m really — I don’t know. I cannot control it,” Jokic said. “Obviously, 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.”
Gilgeous-Alexander was held to just two points on 1-of-2 shooting in the fourth quarter.
“Just to give a different look,” said Jokic. “He’s definitely a top player in this league. He’s really talented. He’s so crafty. His midrange is really, really, really historical, I’m going to say. He’s a great player, so we try to make him take bad shots or just get rid of the ball.”
Nuggets coach Michael Malone thinks the MVP battle isn’t really much of a battle at all.
“Obviously, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is a great player, and if he wins his first MVP, he’s deserving of that,” Malone said… “My thing is this: If you didn’t know that Nikola won three MVPs, and I put Player A and Player B on paper … the guy that was averaging a triple-double, the guy that is top-three in the three major statistical categories, things that no one has ever done, he wins the MVP 10 times out of 10. And if you don’t think so, I think you guys are all bulls******.”
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