Mars Johnson|Marlin Chronicle
Sports debates are a microcosm of our society and its participants. We argue with passion and facts, trying to prove the point which we believe in. When it comes to sports awards, there is almost always a debate as to who should win. Most prolifically, the MVP race for any sport draws in arguments and debates like no other. This year’s NBA MVP is more heated than normal, as two players are having anomaly seasons. Or are they?
Nikola Jokić and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander are currently battling it out for one of the most contested MVP races in recent memory. Team success is very relevant for judging an MVP, as it helps equate overall player value. Gilgeous-Alexander is leading the Oklahoma City Thunder as the best team in the Western Conference with 53 wins so far this season. Jokić is not far behind, leading the Denver Nuggets to 42 wins so far, as well as the second seed in the Western Conference.
Team success may play a major role in MVP voting, but individual success means more. Jokić is currently averaging 28.9 points, 13.0 rebounds and 10.5 assists per game this season. He is top three league wide in each of those categories. Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 32.7 points, 5.1 rebounds and 6.2 assists per game. He leads the league in points per game. When only considering per game stats, Jokić is more well rounded and contributes more to his team’s success, despite scoring less points than Gilgeous-Alexander.
When looking at advanced statistics, this becomes more clear. Player efficiency rating, or PER, is an advanced metric that measures per-minute production. The league average is 15.0. Currently, Jokić has a PER of 32.3. Gilgeous-Alexander sits at 31.0 this season. Box Plus/Minus, or BPM, measures box score estimates points contributed per 100 possessions, translated to a league average team. This is one of the best metrics for discussing a player’s overall standing. Jokić leads the league (for the fifth straight year) in BPM with 13.6, while Gilgeous-Alexander sports a healthy 11.3. While Gilgeous-Alexander is having an MVP-caliber season, Jokić is just a step above the rest, and could be quietly having the best season in NBA history. Additionally, Jokić currently holds the all-time career records for highest PER and BPM.
While Jokić is already a three time MVP (winning the award in 2021, ‘22 and ‘24), there are two flaws in his case for this season. Firstly, his Nugget’s team success does not match that of the other candidate, Gilgeous-Alexander’s Thunder. The Nuggets sit 11 games back behind the Thunder in the Western Conference rankings, yet the Nuggets still rank fifth in the league overall. The second knock to Jokić’s case this season is voter fatigue. This is extremely common when a singular player dominates the league for too long. MVP voters begin looking for any excuse to not vote the reigning MVP again, as to create more parity within the league and generate more “superstars” to market the league to the media. Winning this year’s MVP would be Jokić’s fourth in five years, clearly highlighting him as one of the best players in the history of basketball.
These factors should be insignificant to an MVP race. As the name implies, an MVP should be the most valuable player on the court for their specific team. Jokić impacts the game on different levels; scoring, spreading the floor, defensively and rebounding. These reasons make him one of the best and most dominant players of our generation, and this year should be no exception.
By Crosson Miller
lcmiller@vwu.edu
