NBA MVP Mondays: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Remains Ahead Of Nikola Jokic Post-trade Deadline
NBA MVP Mondays: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Remains Ahead Of Nikola Jokic Post-trade Deadline
Blog Article
Welcome back to NBA MVP Mondays on ClutchPoints as we break down the latest rankings among the top players in the league to see who will be taking home the illustrious end-of-season award.
After a week-long break due to the NBA trade deadline, we are back in full force to discuss the ongoing debate between Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokic pertaining to the NBA's MVP award.
While anything can happen over the course of the final two months of the season, this race between Gilgeous-Alexander and Jokic may simply come down to team record and how each player finishes down the stretch run.
In Gilgeous-Alexander's case, his resume continues to look very strong for several reasons. Aside from the fact that Chet Holmgren has returned, and the Thunder are still the best team in the NBA, Gilgeous-Alexander leads the league in scoring. Shai has scored at least 25 points in 20-straight games.
At this point, anything Jokic does isn't a surprise to anyone. This notion of “voter fatigue” is 100 percent going to exist when media members are contacted to vote for the MVP award, which is a shame because many people who are picked to vote on these awards don't know anything about the X's and O's of basketball.
Many of them didn't even play basketball at the high school, collegiate, or professional level. It's a shame that we continue to count on media members to select who “they believe” should win each award, especially since it's all a popularity contest based on their connections around the league.
Nonetheless, Jokic has once again had an incredible season and is recording video-game-like numbers. In addition to averaging a triple-double this season, Jokic is second in the league when it comes to three-point shooting percentage.
Both Gilgeous-Alexander and Jokic remain at the very top of the NBA MVP rankings with very little separating them. The only difference is that the OKC Thunder lead the Denver Nuggets in the West standings, which could ultimately push SGA over Jokic for the NBA's MVP award.
Previous 2023-24 NBA MVP Rankings: Week 14 | Week 13 | Week 12 | Week 11 | Week 10 | Week 9 | Week 7 | Week 6 | Week 5 | Week 4 | Week 3 | Week 2 | Week 1
1. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander – Oklahoma City Thunder 
Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images
Previous ranking: #1
2024-25 season stats: 50 games, 32.7 points, 6.0 assists, 5.1 rebounds, 1.9 steals, 1.0 blocks, 52.8 FG%, 35.2 3P%
As already mentioned, Gilgeous-Alexander has recorded 25 points in 20-straight games. In this span, he also has 15 games with at least 30 points, five games with at least 40 points, and three different games with at least 50 points. Gilgeous-Alexander scored a career-high 54 points against the Utah Jazz on Jan. 22.
While the Thunder are a complete team with talent at every position, Gilgeous-Alexander is single-handedly carrying their point of attack on offense. Between this and the fact that he's leading the league in scoring, SGA is the MVP favorite right now.
2. Nikola Jokic – Denver Nuggets 
Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images
Previous ranking: #2
2024-25 season stats: 47 games, 29.6 points, 12.7 rebounds, 10.3 assists, 1.8 steals, 57.5 FG%, 46.2 3P%
The Nuggets trail the Memphis Grizzlies by 1.5 games for the 2-seed in the Western Conference. It is highly unlikely that Denver will catch up to Oklahoma City, but never say never. Should the Thunder finish first and the Nuggets second in the West, this MVP debate between Gilgeous-Alexander and Jokic will come down to their performances late in the year.
So far through five games in February, Jokic is averaging 29.4 points, 11.6 assists, and 11.2 rebounds per game while shooting 63.2 percent from the floor and 37.9 percent from three-point range.
There really isn't anything for Jokic to prove anymore, as everyone continues to overlook his historic triple-double numbers. Through 47 games, Jokic has registered a league-high 24 triple-doubles, 14 more than LeBron James (10) in second.
The Thunder and Nuggets will meet in back-to-back games at the start of March. These two matchups between SGA and Jokic could drastically impact the NBA MVP race.