Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic concluded Friday’s overtime game against the Suns with the league’s first-ever 30/20/20 game, having totaled 31 points, 21 rebounds and 22 assists.
In some ways, the three-time MVP’s history-making stat line is almost unsurprising. Jokic continues to be on the forefront of award discussions while putting up video-game level stat lines every night.
The 30-year-old big man is averaging career highs of 28.9 points and 10.6 assists per game, while his 12.9 rebounds per game would be the second-best mark of his career. He’s doing this on an incredibly efficient .577/.439/.818 shooting split. His 43.9% three-point percentage and 4.4 attempts from deep per game are also both career highs.
And while Jokic’s stats might be unsurprising after three MVPs and six All-NBA appearances, it does not mean they should go overlooked. This kind of production is what fans read about in history books and resembles something of an old Wilt Chamberlain stat line.
Being an MVP isn’t all about individual statistics, however. Being the league’s most valuable player means leading a winning situation and making one’s teammates better. Jokic fulfills this criteria, having helped the Nuggets overcome a relatively shaky start to the season. Denver won nine straight from late January to late February and has emerged victorious in 14 of its last 17 games.
Christian Braun is having a season worthy of the Most Improved Player award and Russell Westbrook is proving to be a nice fit, along with other contributions up and down the lineup from the Nuggets’ starters and role players. Jokic has good players around him, but there’s no doubt he’s helping set them up for success.
Despite Jokic’s historic achievements, he’s still trailing Thunder superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in NBA.com’s most recent MVP ladder. Entering Friday, Gilgeous-Alexander appeared to be the runaway favorite for the award.
Gilgeous-Alexander, by the way, is absolutely deserving of the praise. He’s averaging a league-leading and career-high 32.8 points along with 5.1 rebounds and 6.2 assists per game. His 1.8 steals per night are second to only Dyson Daniels and he has posted an impressive .526/.378/.898 shooting line.
As we wrote Thursday, Gilgeous-Alexander’s efficiency is off the charts. His true-shooting and usage percentages are career highs, and he ranks first in the league among guards in the former category.
The Canadian superstar finished second in MVP voting last year and may very well come away with the award this year. He has become the NBA’s surest bet to score 50 points on a given night, having done so four times in the last seven weeks after having previously never accomplished the feat in his career.
Like Jokic, Gilgeous-Alexander accomplishes the two-pronged test of winning games and helping his teammates. The Thunder own the league’s second-best record at 52-11, sitting atop the Western Conference. Oklahoma City has only dropped two games since the start of February, winning 15 of its previous 17.
What’s more, the Thunder are doing this in the face of multiple injuries to key players. Marquee free agent addition Isaiah Hartenstein missed over 20 games due to injury this season while star second-year center Chet Holmgren has been limited to just 18 appearances. Lockdown defender Alex Caruso, acquired via trade, has also missed over 20 games.
There’s no doubt multiple Thunder players like Jalen Williams, Cason Wallace and Aaron Wiggins, to name a few, deserve individual praise. But Gilgeous-Alexander’s presence and elite offensive production are certainly helping bring out the best in those players as well.
Beyond the two hottest names in Jokic and Gilgeous-Alexander, it’s easy to forget other players are worthy of being thrown into the conversation as well. Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s 30.8 points and 12.1 rebounds per game should not be overlooked. Jayson Tatum, Karl-Anthony Towns and Evan Mobley are also putting up tremendous numbers on contending teams. But all signs point to Jokic and Gilgeous-Alexander being the top two in voting.
As NBA.com’s Shaun Powell writes, the Nuggets and Thunder play each other for the final two times this regular season on Sunday afternoon and Monday evening in back-to-back games. The results of those two contests could help sway voters in one direction or another. Premier matchups between the league’s best tend to go the most-noticed among fans, so it will be interesting to see if Jokic continues to close the perceived gap in the race. For what it’s worth, Basketball Reference’s 2024/25 NBA MVP tracker gives Jokic a 65.1% chance to win the award.
Regardless of what happens, it will be interesting to see if the clash between Jokic and Gilgeous-Alexander ends up as close as Jokic’s first MVP win over Joel Embiid in ’21/22, the tightest race in recent memory. Both Jokic and Gilgeous-Alexander are worthy of the honor and are putting up generational-type seasons.
That leads us to today’s question: Who should win the ’24/25 MVP award? Head to the comments to share your pick between Jokic and Gilgeous-Alexander or to let us know if you believe another player should come away with the award.
Well….I know it won’t be
Joel Embiid or Paul George
Jokic and it’s really not close. Don’t make the mistake of giving another one of his MVP trophies to a free throw merchant
*Steph Curry isnt a FT merchant*
lol….after watching todays matchup between the 2 and SGA dominating Jokic on both sides of the ball, this isn’t even a contest anymore. SGA is taking the mvp and it shouldn’t be that close.
using a 1 game sample where denver lost its non-joker key big man during the game is nasty, nasty work. you truly believe joker shoots 2 for 10 from 3, that’s who he is? nope. you dont know ball if this is your take.
Chet is better and more valuable than SGA. He was +32 today. SGA was +11 in a blowout. Says it all.
Free Throw Merchant – Exactly !!!
I’ve seen both Live and Up Close this season; SGA going off for a seemingly empty 50+@ Dubs (if there is such a thing) and Jokic 19 assists vs Pacers feeding his mates time and again for layups. SGA facilitated a teammate stand around as he continually drove the lane and drew fouls while Jokic electrified his team. The GS crowd could feel the OKC collapse coming, as GS
Dubs fought back from 20+ down to win (in the 4Q the referees swallowed their whistles a bit) with SGA missing clutch shot after clutch shot….
Well you call SGA a free throw merchant that means mj and kobe is to and I looked it up SGA will still be leading in scoring with free throws and takes skill he’s good at driving to the basket takes skill so know facts before you say stuff….
SGA put up an absurd 32 shots and only had 40 points and a +11
Chet was +32 in 26 minutes
SGA is not the most valuable player in the league.
OKC is a top 4 team -without- SGA. Period.
I meant without free throws lol he would be leading in scoring without free throws
SGA is MVP this year, but I don’t think there should be any debate on who the top 2 players on earth are: Jokic and Giannis.
Its the biggest joke of all time to say its not Jokic. The Thunder win because of defense, they would be a 45 win team at least without SGA. Just create an award for guy that scores the most points for him and end this nonsense.
You are right. It is the result of that bulls–t Debate of how ist the New Face of the League. Seems like it has to be an American? Why? Jokic will finish first or second fife years in a row in MVP voting and everybody is talking about Edwards and SGA who never won anything.
Only with this in mind somebody can Pick SGA over Jokic
You’d almost have a valid point if SGA weren’t Canadian.
Your post is void since you can’t spell five correctly. Did you post this on a typewriter?
If you take either Jokìc or Shai away from their respective teams both teams end up in the lottery. Just like your guys that score the most points award maybe they should just create the SPOY award for Jokic. Stat Padder of the Year.
If SGA gets it he’ll deserve it…
However voter fatigue will be a larger reason…
Jokic is just that good… Carrying a team…
If you are talking Most Valuable player……..Stephan Curry has to be in the conversation…….Not the highest scorer or stat monster, but his overall shooting, passing, ball handling, rebounding, and basketball IQ makes him extremely valuable to a surging Warriors team
lol.
Actually in the weeks pre-Butler the Dubs were losing and Steph was shooting terribly. And Steph was taking nights off against voracious defenders (Nembhard).
Add Butler and Steph now has room to hit shots again, but he’s nowhere close to MVP….
Steph Curry just entered the chat….
He’s carrying the hell out of a would be average team. Now he may not rank higher than SGA or Jokic, but he has to be in the discussion.
If he isn’t even close to being better than the top 2 candidates why would he be in the discussion? Lol. It isn’t “let’s list good nba players” we’re talking about the MVP
Exactly. GSW apparently has the worst team out of all these MVP contending players teams, but even if you dont believe that, OKC factually definitely has the most depth out of any West team, therefore its easier for SGA, he’s in less pressure scenarios. Curry is hitting EVERY buzzer beater now…he’s hit full lunatic mode, if it lasts til the end of the season, he is MVP. GSW starts losing the second he rests – isnt that the very definition of “valuable”?
No… And Steph is not even in the top five. The Dubs couldn’t move his contract if the life of the franchise depended on it.
^ you dont know ball, like, at all. Steph Curry is the face of the league, any team would trade any of their stars for 1 year of him.
I’m inclined to go with SGA. It’s a tough call between SGA and Jokìc. They’re both carrying their respective teams offensively. Jokìc is having yet another legendary season but OKC is 11 games up in the West. One thing might hurt SGA is that he’ll probably only play in 12-14 games down the stretch because they have the West all but locked up. Denver is in a tight seeding battle between themselves, The Lakers and The Grizz so Jokic will most likely play every game.
That’s the thing – he’s not really carrying them. OKC still has a positive +/- with SGA off the court. With Jokic, the team literally drops from the most efficient offense in the league with him on the court, to the least efficient with him off it.
The on/off-court numbers reflect very favorably on both guys.
You’re right about the difference in the Nuggets’ offensive numbers when Jokic is on the floor vs. when he isn’t, but they also have a better defensive rating when he’s off the court.
The Thunder have the equivalent of the league’s No. 1 offense when SGA plays and the equivalent of the No. 28 offense when he doesn’t, plus they have a slightly better defensive rating when he plays.
I can understand why the “OKC would still be good without SGA” argument is a point in favor of Jokic, but IMO you still have to account for how much better OKC has been than Denver. The gap between the Thunder and Nuggets in the standings (and in net ratings) is almost the same as the gap between the Nuggets and Suns.
Having said all that, I still might lean toward Jokic, but I strongly disagree that it’s an obvious or easy call at this point.
You nailed it again, Mr. Adams. Here’s where I Iiterally AND figuratively stand: I am not the most neurotically-obsessed basketball nut, like some of these unapologetically confident hoops junkies on here, but I am certainly not the LEAST of such individuals. Without looking, I think I know the 3rd, 4th, 5th, etc. leading scorers of the Nuggets, from the Cavs, from the Bucks, from the Lakers, from the Grizz, and so forth. I CANNOT confidently tell you who the 3rd leading scorer is – someone who should make 65 GP minimum – on the Thunder. THIS, you guys, is why Mr. S-G-freakin’-Aaaaaaa is your 2024-25 NBA M-V-P!!
You know the fifth scorer for the Cavs (or the Grizzlies!) but not the third for the Thunder?
Yeah I also have no idea who their third scorer is, like is it Chet? Is it Isaiah Joe? Lu Dort, Cason Wallace, Aaron Wiggins, Hartenstein? Who is this team third leading scorer I have no idea lol
Okc is a good team, but they are A LOT better when Shai is on the floor. Shai is being more of a positive than Jokic when on the floor according to +/-
There’s no disputing who is the BEST current NBA player, Hippoes and Brabo. But let’s not forget that a single season’s “most valuable player” does NOT also have to be the game’s undisputed current BEST player; for whatever reason(s), people sometimes assume these two distinctions need to merge perfectly. That simply is not – and SHOULD not – be the case all the time. Nikola is the freaking man; I am FOREVER in debt to him for how he played in the ‘23 WCF and then the ‘24 W1st round. The guy is in a league of his own. But the story in the West THIS SEASON is the Oklahoma City Thunder; and the best player on BY FAR the best team out West is S-G-freakin’-Aaaaaa. SGA will be the undisputed M-V-P. That’s just how it IS, you guys. Hey, I’m not the one writing the book on the ‘24-‘25 NBA regular season.
That says more about their bench.
Joker, Giannis or Curry SHOULD have won the last 10 MVPs. Anyone who won over them was 100% not as valuable to their team or were FT merchants.
The greatest center of all time Jokic is the unanimous MVP for the 5th straight year.
Best player on the best team.
Voter fatigue is the only reason there is a discussion going on. Jokic has been head and shoulders the most productive player in the league, and the difference between him being on the court and off it, is night and day for Denver. He’s almost single handedly driving them.
At this point it’s a two man race. With Giannis a close third. Nobody gives enough credit for playing Defense. Even though its half the game. I understand fans not doing it. But so called media analysts and personalities. Should all use it as a measuring stick. Respect the Game.
Its why SGA could win it. Imo Jokic is slightly ahead right now. And he two doesn’t get credit for his D. As a big playing team D. Its a huge asset. He may not be NBA all D team. But he is solid and makes a difference. SGA and Giannis are both all NBA defenders.
Imo all three are major parts of their teams. And none of them are same team without them. You also have take into account. The teams record. When you play to win. You are not padding your stats. And all three fit that criteria. They are my top three.
Jokic is winning right now. SGA doesn’t get talked about enough imo. He’s having an all time year. Just like Jokic. I really can see either one winning.
Teams record are like pitching wins to decide the Cy Young, hopefully we are past that.
Shai is a better defender on a much better defensive roster. Everything else says Jokic.
Looking at cold stats, Shai leads in FT%, but both over 80%, 4 more points and half a block. Even steals are even.
Meanwhile, a center shoots 44% on a high volume of 3s.
Shai is ok but it is a travesty that Jokic won’t be remembered as a five-time MVP in a five-year span.
I was very certain it was Shai, but since the Nuggets started winning I am 50/50
Shai is my MVP, OKC is having a legendary historically year with PTS diff, think 72 and 73 win bulls/warriors and 69 win laker teams. You reward the best player on a historic team like that. Jordan won it Steph won it and I think Wilt won it in that year. Jokic is having the greatest season in nba history I think but you have to reward the team getting you to what you’re doing and Shai is OKC and OKC is Shai. It’s like 50.1% and 49.9% for me
Those three were also the best players in the league at the time. This season instead the best player in the world, best player in each of the last five years, is having one of the best seasons ever. This is not Westbrook on the Wizards. The Nuggets without Jokic are this year’s Sixers.
Nobody brought up Westbrook MVP? I’m talking about strictly 96 Bulls and 16 warriors. I agree Jokic is having the best season ever but don’t discredit OKC having one of the best seasons ever statistically as well.
As great as SGA is playing there is no convo to be had…
1/ Jokic
2/ Giannis
3/ SGA
OKC is still a playoff team without SGA. Denver is definitely a lotto team without Jovic. This makes him more valuable than SGA despite what Kardashians want for their skims boy.
What’s GSW without Curry?
Jokic! but what SGA has done with the injuries to key stars is very impressive! While only losing 11 games in the process! I still have to go with Jokic though he just makes his team that much better all the way around! Jokic gets my vote so far…
Hey Warriors fans who saw that Pistons game on Saturday…were you like me, did you yell “thats game, thats a wrap” the second Isaiah Stewart put his hands on Curry? I know I sure did….its always funny watching the upstart teams act like that’s the way, when it just makes Curry destroy them harder. Always and forever.
Steph Curry is the real MVP and always has been.