Nikola Jokic has a commanding lead in ESPN’s first straw poll of the season on the MVP race, writes Tim Bontemps of ESPN. The Nuggets center captured 57 first-place votes among the 100 ballots, giving him 827 total points.
Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander came in second with 24 first-place votes and 678 points, followed by Bucks big man Giannis Antetokounmpo, who topped 19 ballots and has 643 points. Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (267 points) and Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (123) round out the top five.
A win by Jokic would give him four MVP trophies in five years and would put him in very select company, Bontemps notes. Only LeBron James and Bill Russell have collected the award four times in five seasons, while Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain are the other players to be named MVP at least four times.
Bontemps adds that Antetokoumpo had a significant surge in the poll after his dominant performance in the NBA Cup final. Twenty-nine voters changed their ballots after Tuesday’s game, giving him more than twice as many first-place votes and moving him much closer to Gilgeous-Alexander.
There’s more from around the basketball world:
- J.J. Redick, who was a rising media star before being hired to coach the Lakers, weighed in on the NBA’s declining television ratings after Thursday’s game, according to Sam Amick and Jovan Buha of The Athletic. Redick doesn’t believe the league is being presented well by its national TV outlets. “We don’t have anybody that’s willing to step up to the fact that this is an awesome game and we should talk about it and celebrate it in a positive way,” he said. “That doesn’t mean we don’t critique it. We should critique it, but we should celebrate it. Nobody’s doing that, and the people that are have a small niche following on Twitter. And frankly, I would argue as well, that everyone in our ecosystem pays too much attention to what is said on Twitter. And part of this whole ratings discussion is because people on Twitter are talking about it.”
- Khem Birch will remain with Fenerbahce for the rest of the season, relays Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews. In September, Birch signed a one-year contract with an exit clause that would have allowed the Turkish team to terminate the deal in January. Urbonas states that other EuroLeague teams had interest if the 32-year-old center had become a free agent again.
- German sharpshooter Andreas Obst spoke about a potential three-point shootout with Stephen Curry and his interest in an NBA future in a BasketNews Film Session Episode. Obst says he heard that NBA executives were talking about him after he starred in the 2023 World Cup, but he never got a formal offer. “At some point, yeah, I could see myself in the NBA,” he said. “I can fill a role as a shooter. I know how to use my gravity to space the floor, spot up, and play off the ball. That’s something I think any NBA team could use.”
Really ???? KAT is not in the MVP conversation .
He should be …..
Nuggets need to trade for Butler…
LOL. Is Redick kidding? Games are getting more and more difficult to watch without the sound down due to the broadcasters’ constant shilling for, and fawning over, the players. There’s a shortage of game (basketball) analysis, sure, but that’s the Stern formula (promoting the players, vs the teams or the game, and for God sake, don’t educate the fans on the game, what good can come of that).
Jokic should be unanimous again … I don’t see how you can’t vote him first.
It’s just too early. How many games have been played?
Why is SGA getting so many votes? His finishing ahead of Luka last year made little sense. Clearly a very good player, but he’s nowhere near as fundamental to his team’s success as Jokic, Giannis and Luka, who do everything and lead their teams in most categories. SGA’s assists and rebounds numbers are not impressive, and he’s not exactly a highlight machine, unlike the other three. Maybe my problem with him is just that the other three are at historical levels, even with Luka’s year not being as great as usual.
Lethal from his spots and nice D. Also a free three merchant, but most are these days.
Similarly to Tatum, he’s not in the race for player I’d take first if I started a team today. The three Euros are way ahead, in fact four of them.
Redick is a joke, he got his job by talking all sorts of madness about the nba on the whole. Then is easy to shed the blame when his coaching job is a joke. He is right what he says but he is the problem not the answer.