A Deeper Dive into the Most Difficult MVP Decision Ever

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Are we witnessing the greatest MVP race in NBA History? The NBA has seen some phenomenal MVP’s with the names of Michael Jordan, Lebron James, Kobe Bryant, Stephen Curry and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Over the last five years we have seen the most skilled basketball in the history of the league. The talent pool for the NBA today is unlike any other league in the world. However there are tiers now and an MVP Race that seems to be the hardest to choose from in NBA history. Those two names in the hunt for that MVP today are Nikola Jokic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. 

Nikola Jokic has been the best player in the league for five years now, accomplishing 3 MVP’s, 1 NBA Finals, 1 NBA Finals MVP, 3 All NBA 1st teams, 5 All star appearances, and 2 NBA 2nd teams. With all these accomplishments in just five years you’d think to yourself “there's no way an NBA player can get better…right?” That is where you are mistaken. Jokic this season is having quite possibly the highest peak in NBA history averaging 29.3 PTS, 10.3 Ast, 12.8 TRB, and shooting 57.6% from the field. However Jokic’s case for MVP isn’t in his stats, they’re in his impact. The Denver Nuggets with Jokic on the floor play like a title contender, but without him they play like a play-in hopeful team. The stats back this claim as well. The Denver Nuggets with Jokic on the floor have a Net Rating of +10.6 which would be tied for 4th in the NBA. Without Jokic on the floor they have a net rating of -8.2 which would put them at the 24th best team in the entire NBA. Jokic’s case for MVP holds strong in the fact that he is the best team elevator in recent history. On the other hand, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is doing the unthinkable.

 Gilgeous-Alexander is also currently playing some of the most elite basketball that the NBA will ever see. Gilgeous-Alexander is leading the league in both total scoring and average points per game averaging 32.9 PTS, 6.3 AST, and 5.0 TRB while shooting 52.2% from the field. However he is also getting it done on the defensive side which is one of the reasons some voters will vote for him to win MVP. The Oklahoma City Thunder are playing great team basketball which will work against him however but I think it is important that we point this out. With Gilgeous-Alexander on the floor the Thunder have a net rating of +18.3 which would make them the greatest team in NBA history. Yes, even better than the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls and the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors. Now this is where it works against Gilgeous-Alexander. Without Gilgeous-Alexander on the floor the Thunder have a net rating of +5.8. Which in today’s league would make them still title contenders. This would mean that he raises them from a title contending team into one of the best teams in NBA history.

This MVP race is historically the hardest there has ever been. With the choice to choose a player in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander that elevates a title contending team into greatest team of all time talks and another player in Nikola Jokic who elevates a bottom five team in the league to title contenders. There isn’t a wrong choice but it feels like there also isn’t a right choice to make.