Shortly after the NBA regular season concluded, the NBA announced the finalists for the Most Valuable Player award. The list wasn’t really a surprise to anyone: it was OKC’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama, and Denver’s own Nikola Jokic. Unfortunately for Jokic, he now looks set to miss out on the MVP award for the second year in a row after three consecutive MVPs between 2022 and 2024.
It’s a tough break for Jokic, who has remained an incredibly offensive talent, and deserving of being called the best player in the league, but voter fatigue, combined with narratives fueling his competitors, means Jokic has fallen behind in the race for MVP. Despite that, he still has a shot at the NBA championship, and his legacy is still far from complete. You can click here to learn more about betting promotions for the MVP race and the NBA playoffs.
Why Jokic is missing out
Both Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Victor Wembanyama have excellent cases for MVP. Shai has been the top scorer on the best team, which automatically puts you under consideration for MVP. He’s also had a phenomenally efficient season, and has arguably improved from his last season, where he won MVP and finals MVP.
Wembanyama has been one of the most impactful players in the league, particularly with his defence. He was the unanimous Defensive Player of the Year, the first ever, and moved the needle for San Antonio whenever he was on the floor. His own statements in a press conference saying he deserved MVP, calmly laying out his reasons, skyrocketed his chances, and he leapfrogged Jokic among most bookmakers.
Why Jokic deserves the MVP
It’s important not to start believing that what Nikola Jokic does is normal. Once again, for the third time in his career, Nikola Jokic averaged a triple-double throughout the entire season, ending the year averaging 27.7 points, 12.9 rebounds, and 10.7 assists, leading the league in both rebounds and assists. Jokic remains the third player ever to achieve this feat. He also continues to be the greatest offensive engine in the league, evidenced by how much Denver struggles when he is not on the floor.
Even compared to other years where Jokic won the MVP award, 25/26 was arguably Jokic’s greatest individual season ever, producing a monstrously efficient year that was impressive even by his own standards, and likely elevated him into the conversation of the best centres of all time. Unfortunately for Jokic, the potency of the storylines supporting his competitors are too intoxicating for the voting base. MVP voters love a story, or a new kid on the block, and Shai and Wembanyama both provide that where Jokic cannot. Jokic will have to prove himself again.
