First, The Ringer published an article claiming Nikola Jokic was the MVP. No arguments here. But they didn't have a vote for MVP. However, Stan Van Gundy, who does have a vote, has come out and voiced his backing for Jokic, and he's voted for Jokic. Could Jokic still have a puncher's chance in the MVP race as the season winds down, and the Nuggets and Jokic get hot?
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has largely been considered the favorite to win the MVP award, but Jokic has just had a 10-game stretch no player in NBA history has had, and the Nuggets have won all 10.
Van Gundy made the declaration that he voted for Jokic for MVP on "The Zach Lowe Show." "Same guy I've had every year I've been a voter. Jokic," was his reply when asked by Lowe who his MVP pick was. Van Gundy said it was "insane" that Jokic was averaging more assists than Shai and pointed to his passing and how it "lifts Denver up" as his reason for putting Jokic ahead of SGA.
Jokic is getting the Nuggets open, and they're converting
SVG isn't wrong. Jokic is helping lead the Nuggets to a lot of wide-open shots, and they're knocking them down at the highest rate in the league. The Nuggets lead the league in wide-open three-point percentage at 42.7%, and they're tops in overall field goal percentage at 45.9% when wide open.
It makes for easy work for Joker. He's had 34 triple-doubles this season, tied for last year for the most in his career, but in six fewer games. That's nine more than Jokic had during his last MVP season in 2023-24. He just keeps getting better and better.
Jokic leads the league in two of the big three offensive categories
It's kind of mind-boggling that Jokic is leading the league in both rebounds and assists, while ranking 8th in scoring. He's averaging 27.8 points, 12.9 rebounds, and 10.9 assists. Nobody has ever led the league in those two categories across any two seasons, let alone one.
Jokic's had seven more triple-doubles over his last 10 games, all Nuggets wins. And over that span, he did the incredible. Jokic has scored 252 points, grabbed 145 rebounds, and has 127 assists. It's the best 10-game stretch by those numbers over 1.4 million 10-game stretch samples. It's another entry for all of the voters to marvel at as they get ready to cast their MVP vote.
Jokic has been making a charge. The question is whether or not it's enough to win over enough voters and sway them back from SGA. Even if Jokic doesn't win the MVP, he's still got the crown for world's best basketball player. But he could still have a chance in this race. Maybe.