Former NBA All-Star says there's no question who MVP is between Nikola Jokic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

Matthew Wadleigh

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Former NBA All-Star says there's no question who MVP is between Nikola Jokic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander image

As the NBA Playoffs begin, the NBA MVP debate is swirling around. This year's race seems to be between Denver Nuggets big man Nikola Jokic and Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. 

Jokic, who has three NBA MVP awards to his name, is once again having a monster season. On the other hand, so is Gilgeous-Alexander, and it helps that the Thunder finished the regular season with the best record in the NBA. 

When we look at the numbers side-by-side, it is a tough debate: 

  • Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: 32.7 PPG, 6.4 assists, 5.0 rebounds, 1.7 steals, 51.9 field goal percentage, 37.5 3-point percentage 
  • Nikola Jokic: 29.7 PPG, 12.7 rebounds, 10.2 assists, 57.6 field goal percentage, 41.7 3-point percentage 

A year ago, Jokic averaged a triple-double in the regular season en route to an NBA MVP award, and he once again averaged a triple-double during the 2024-25 season. 

Gilgeous-Alexander led the NBA in points per game and was the best player on the best team in the league, so there's that. As the debate swirls on, Brooklyn Nets guard D'Angelo Russell - who was an All-Star at one point during his career - chimed in on the debate during an episode of The Backyard Podcast. 

“Jokic is going to win MVP. He should be going on, like, his fifth MVP right now. And it is what it is. That’s where I’m standing," Russell said. 

Russell did give Gilgeous-Alexander credit but he admitted they just can't look over Jokic's numbers once again. 

“We’re going to hold on all of that, because Shai—flowers, brother—I ain’t taking nothing from you. But like, we can’t just keep looking over dude.”

To make things more interesting, there is a scenario where the Nuggets and Thunder face off in the Western Conference semifinals if each team wins the first-round series, so it could be an MVP battle to watch. 

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Matthew Wadleigh

Matthew Wadleigh is a freelance writer with The Sporting News. He was born and raised in Southern California and grew up a San Diego sports fan (yes, it’s tough, except for Aztecs hoops). Matthew went to Fresno State as a journalism major and got to see Davante Adams, Derek Carr, Paul George and Aaron Judge in person. Matthew has written for publications including ClutchPoints, Sportscasting, Fansided, Trojans Wire, UCLA Wire and Buffaloes Wire.