These first couple of months of Nikola Jokic’s season have been nothing short of incredible, and it’s pretty easy to argue that he’s not only the best player in the league but by far the most valuable player to his team. Unfortunately, it’s not going to matter because the reigning MVP, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, is off to an even better start than last season, and the Thunder are winning at a historic pace.
Jokic’s numbers keep getting more and more ridiculous, but he may just be fighting an unwinnable battle. SGA has upped his scoring to 32.8 points per game, his efficiency has gone way up, and the Thunder are off to a 23-1 start.
He has done it with a bunch of teammates in and out of the lineup, and his co-star, Jalen Williams, has only appeared in five games this year. Fans of Jokic, Luka, Giannis, and whoever else can argue until they’re blue in the face, but if Shai keeps up this ridiculous scoring streak, and OKC wins 70+ games, you can go ahead and give him his second straight MVP award.
Jamal Murray’s strong play hurting Jokic’s MVP case
One of the best arguments for Jokic, the past couple of seasons, has been that he basically has to do everything himself while SGA had a superteam. But this season, that narrative has flipped a bit. The Nuggets bolstered their depth and have a solid bench, plus Jamal Murray has shown up in shape and is playing like a true star.
Coming off the first Player of the Week award of his career, Murray is having his best start to a season by far, and has a great chance to make the All-Star Game for the first time. While that’s great news for the Nuggets, it’s a major blow to Jokic’s MVP chances.
Things have almost flipped as the Joker has a legitimate co-star this season, while SGA has been carrying a banged-up roster all season. So, Jokic can keep putting up monster numbers and setting records left and right, but unless something drastically changes with the Thunder, it likely won’t matter.
The Thunder are chasing history at this point, and it would almost be surprising if they don’t get there. Shai has a chance to break the record for most 20+ point games in a row, and the Thunder have a chance to break the wins record, getting to 73 or more. If those things happen, a repeat MVP for Gilgeous-Alexander is all but inevitable.