The end of the NBA regular season marks the close of the individual award races around the league. Many of the 2023–24 awards have long been locked up, at least based on their betting odds, and there are just one or two that still have to be decided. The odds for MVP are heavily in the favor of Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokić, though the superstar doesn’t seem to buy in to any conversation regarding the honors.
Jokic Comments On The NBA MVP Discussion
“I think the whole MVP conversation is getting out of control. I think I’m playing good basketball, the team is playing good basketball… I think a couple guys deserve to have that award.”
Nikola Jokic expressed his thoughts on the MVP race 🗣️pic.twitter.com/YJjHdGALQj
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) April 11, 2024
It has been Jokic’s award to lose since Joel Embiid went down with an injury in late January. It would be the third time that he has earned the honor of being named the most valuable, as he has averaged a near triple-double yet again this season, and has his team in position for another deep playoff run.
During his post-game press conference following Denver’s big win over the Timberwolves on Wednesday, Jokic was asked about his thoughts on the MVP discussion happening as the season comes to a close:
I think the whole MVP conversation is getting out of control. I think I’m playing good basketball, the team is playing good basketball. If I win it, great. If I don’t win it, congrats to the other guy. I think there’s a lot of players playing really good basketball in the league.
Gilgeous-Alexander & Doncic Have Been The Other Candidates Lately
“Traditional stats favor Luka [Doncic]… The advance numbers favor Joker [Nikola Jokic]… I think they should be even money for MVP.”
Nick Wright gives his opinion on the NBA’s MVP race 🗣
(via @FTFonFS1) pic.twitter.com/J5mqRgImsz
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) April 11, 2024
The other two players that have been garnering the most attention in MVP talks down the stretch have been Luka Dončić and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The latter has been in the conversation for much of the season, as the Thunder guard has led the league in scoring and has had his team at the top of the standings throughout the year.
Doncic has been arguably the best player in the league over the past couple of months. Not only has he been putting up impressive numbers, but his Mavericks have been on fire as of late, having won 16 of 18 to catapult into the top-5 in the West.
Jokic was the winner of the NBA MVP award in both 2021 and 2022, and there were some who believed that he should have taken home the hardware last season as well. Had be topped Embiid in 2023, he would be on the brink of an unprecedented fourth straight MVP win.
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