Let's Talk About Nikola Jokic...
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- Опубліковано 25 чер 2024
- PODCAST VERSION: podcasters.spotify.com/pod/sh... out Nick's channel: / @motownnoah
+ a bonus video at the end
0:00 Nikola Jokic Fraud MVP?
14:46 Bonus Game Recap
#basketball #nba #commentary - Розваги
PODCAST VERSION: podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/rustybuckets
People HAVE TO STOP PERPETUATING THE LIE that Jokic said Luka should get the award over him.
Jokic said Luka had an MVP deserving season.
Just like you said, Jokic had an MVP deserving season.
That doesn't mean Jokic said Luka had a better season, just like you never said Jokic had a better season.
1 bad game definitely means an MVP is invalid IMO. Sweeping a powerhouse like The Pelicans on the other hand, means Shai was robbed.
Lmao. If Shai actually lost against the pelicans, that would have been hilarious to see.
What?
@naoikeda9472 without Zion, Shai could have played 2 games and Thunder still win in 6
10/10 satire 😭😭
I laughed when I seen okc barking like dogs cause they wanna be wolves
This is why the NBA needs to just give the MVP award the very next day the season is over. I don't understand why delay giving the award so long
i completely agree. The amount of braindead takes I see on twitter of people using the two last games as arguments for why Jokic shouldn't win MVP is driving me insane
But all the drama, the clicks, the outrage. How else can we get all this bonus engagement.
@@JasonAtlasbut they were doing Denver and Jokic dirty.
This is actually a really good shout. I’m sure they delay it to build hype throughout the playoffs but it really would be less controversial this way.
I could see the argument.
Especially in cases like 07 Dirk.
If it was awarded right after the regular season, then we could’ve had a moment to appreciate the regular season the winner had individually.
Don’t get me wrong, a playoff choke or underperformance after a dominant regular season will be disappointing.
But there’s a reason we were disappointed: Because the player (and in many cases team) played a really good regular season.
If it’s a regular season award, then I actually might be in favor of handing it out before the playoffs begin
Last year: “Jokic was robbed, should’ve won three in a row”
This year for some reason: “Jokic is overrated and is having a bad series, shouldn’t have won it”
I legitimately don’t understand nba fans lol
This is a bad take from rusty
The problem is the nba gives out make up mvps now. Its a guarantee luka will win next year
@@uhhh_cheese I haven’t watched him long but he seemingly always has a bad take.
@@uhhh_cheeseHas he ever had a good take?
@jeffgolden2308 I generally like his takes but this feels like the opposite of what he said last year
I feel like Jokic legitimately had a case to win the MVP, but I think the fans overwhelmingly wanted either SGA/Luka to win the award over him.
Yep. And they were willing to overlook most stats to do it for Luka or SGA. If Jokic lost MVP again to someone with inferior stats, like last year, what would Jokic have to do to earn any future awards? Basically, people are telling the guy that it doesn't matter that he had the best, most complete year in the NBA, finishing top-10 in points, rebounds, assists and field goal percentage (the ONLY NBA player to do so), and that there's really nothing he could do to win another award, because the goalpost is HIM.
@@wyotriumphrider yeah. Logically there was probably not a good reason for jokic
I feel like jokic deserves it, and losing just last year would have swayed it a bit to him. The reason I'm fine with it, is it feels like we're in a transition rn and Shai, Luka, ant are going to have more opportunities moving forward and catching up to jokic just being the best player outright. This might be the last season he's ahead of the competition.
I like Luka but he was the 5th seed I don't think he should've won it this year. If he gets a top 3 seed then we can talk.
@@cassiusfelix2805 nuggets were the 6 seed for one of jokic's mvps, also the mavs had way more injuries than every team above them, majority of their losses were during a bad stretch before the trade deadline, i think using team record to back your case up is kinda dumb when the mavs were 1 win away from the 4 seed and the other nuggets starters are way better than the other mavs starters
Are we really having "Jokic is a fraud" conversations? 🤦🏽♂️
I expected more of Rusty, I hope he comes back with a new video with a better stance, this is just disrespectful to Jokić
Yes… because he has 3 MVPs now and that is not representative of how good of a player he is.. better players than Jokic have not gotten 3 MVPs
@@dpend Dumb argument. MVP is one year`s award , if a player is best in the league in let`s say 3 consecutive years he should get 3 consecutive MVP`s, it absolutely doesn`t matter if 20 years ago there were better players that didn`t get 3 MVP, it just means they had better competition. Nowhere does it say that player who has more MVP`s is better player than someone who has less.
@@arlekin1976 Yeah. That argument is one of the dumbest shit I've heard. Why should someone not get what they deserve just because previously a person didn't
@@dpendokay congrats, you look dumb in the comments section, happy now?
people looove being prisoners of the moment and eating shit later lol, every player ever has had a bad series before, jokic is gonna bounce back
For real. People went from praising jokic for beating the shit out of Lebron and lakers, and now they are calling him a fraud for going against literally the best defense I’ve ever seen in my life. Even if he loses this series, next year he’s gonna come back better than ever.
Even if you wanna say Jokic is having a bad series, it doesn’t affect what he did in the regular season. If we’re gonna penalize Jokic for having a bad series, then do the same for Luka. He had a very bad series by his own standards against the Clippers.
And he did!
It's because the media and UA-camrs need to constantly crap out content to get views and stay relevant. Rusty's no different
Funny how y'all won't let LeBron have a bag series tho?? The double standards are crazy
“give it to the guy who doesn’t have one and wants one, instead of the guy who has 2 and doesn’t want another” I’m sorry dude but that’s one of the worst takes I’ve ever heard lol
i can confirm rusty doesn’t know ball lol
I'm convinced these guys are shilling to make Luka MVP the exact same way Embiid was put in that position.
Very best scenario 3-1 😂😂😂😂 what was that !!! Haha props for leaving this up though and taking the heat!
Rusty been real quiet about jokic since making this 😂
Everybody remember how good this nugs team and jokic is now?
Tie series now lol
I hate the weak competition last year argument personally. The Nuggets were the #1 seed last year very comfortably. I really dislike that they are punished for being the best team in the west all last year and then looking like it in the playoffs? People were picking the suns over them, people picked the lakers over them. It feels SUPER hindsight biased to say that they faced weak competition, because they made them look weak.
Exactly! Thank you!
Yeah to 90% of these fans last year never happened lol
US sports media is the absolute worst.
There is no room for MVP being subjective, and people just appreciating more than one player being any good.
No matter, who ever wins the MVP it's just hordes of people hating the winner if there is someone who had a claim for the award.
It's because right now advanced stats is being factored in to much. It's rare to have so many very close races. I really feel like they just gave it to him to give something sports media to talk about.
@@tonysobon4669Or maybe just maybe some people actually think jokic deserved it? Only case sga has is being the best player on the best team which personally I think is irrelevant because it’s a player award not a team award and your standing says more about the team than the player individually.
@@victorfalola2754 I am not saying Jokic doesn't have a legit reason for winning , I just think Luka should have won it and I also get why people feel like SGA should have won. My issue is with the voters and not the players.
Don't ever count out the Denver Nuggets. This is why Jokic RIGHTFULLY won MVP
Rusty with the shit take 😂
Its weird to watch this and the nuggets being up by 22 in the 3rd at the same time.
Crazy how we go from last year Embiid actively campaigning for the MVP to Jokic who has said on multiple occasions he doesn't really care for it and advocated for Luka over himself.
They should have taken his advice and given it to Luka. It’s disgusting how the NBA is literally wasting the career of one of its most talented players ever.
@@dpendIf Luka had put up stats that don’t stand out for a few years then had the statline he did this year, could he have had a better shot?
The narrative probably would be that he improved dramatically one of those years if that’s the case.
Ofc losing a playoff game invalidates a regular season reward.
People love hating on both Jokić and the nuggets
It seems like people love to hate regardless. It’s so weird
People have loved Jokic and nuggets for years and all advocated for his first 2 (plus the embiid one). The discourse this year is we now have a league where someone can go 33, 10 and 9 on a 50+ win team and get 4 1st place votes while losing MVP
people hate whoevers on the top. if you are a nuggets fan, get used to it until they aren't good anymore.
As a nuggets fan it, really does suck like I have no idea why they do. most people don’t even watch our fucking team and need to shut up honestly I’ve heard painful “takes” about the nuggets from people who obviously don’t watch.
@@nicholasalexander9866 It's why I am absolutely sure humanity doesn't stand a chance under a certain rare set of circumstances.
Here to tell you Jokic is the best player in the world and it’s not close
well this aged like milk
The overreaction is absolutely ridiculous
No
Update: They came back and tied the series 2-2
Thank you, you must be from the future. Am looking forward to watch the games, probably place some bets. Do the knicks sweep?
Sorry, man. I know you bet against Jokic. Frankly, if either SGA or Doncic had had better statistical seasons than Jokic, I would have supported their candidacy. Even if he didn't want it, he MORE than earned it...and he got royally screwed last year.
Luka had a better statistical season than Jokic, nearly averaging a 35 point triple double and carrying the Mavs to a 50 win season while being the 3rd most injured team in the league. What Luka did was more impressive than what Jokic did the year he won MVP with Nuggets as the 6th seed.
Jokic is good but not 3x MVP good, that’s just ridiculous.
@@dpend You don't have a clue what you're talking about. Luka averaged 33.9 ppg on 23.6 attempts. Jokic averaged 26.4 mpg on 17.9 attempts per game. Luka FG% was 48.7 , Jokic's was 58.3%...Luka played 70 games, Jokic played 79 games. Jokic was first in the league in every advanced stats category, PER, WS, WS per 48 min, BPM, VORP etc I like Luka, he had ridiculous season and I think it should've been between him and Jokic but you're just showing your stupidity by disrespecting Jokic. And you're talking about 21/22 Denver as a 6th seed.? That was a lottery team without Jokic. Starters were Will Burton , Monte Morris, Jeff Green, Aaron Gordon and Jokic, he literally put them on his back
@@donie-rg4cy add on that he dont have Jamal 30 games,so he was alone carry hard core.
@@dpend And what makes you think only Luka had a "historical season"? Jokic is the only player to rank inside top 10 in all the four categories. Only thing that is ridiculous here is how ignorant you are and how stupid you sound.
Take aged like milk and I’m here to tell you
this will not age well..
Nuggets leads 3-2
Jokic 40pts 0 turnovers
3 days later and this take aged like milk
Jokic was by far the best player this year, and frankly it wasn't close.
Not gonna say dumb, but are you ignorant?
jokic is the most valuable player to his at-most-average team which won a championship because of him, when he isnt in the field the playstyle change a lot, which means the opposition team have little time do adapt when jokic goes rest and the denver have to understand how to play without jokic, then he comes back and the team change.
Why it happens? Because this guy is sooo impactful that he can make even common to somewhat above average nba guys shine
not a single current all star in his team and two players who got into all star in one moment of their career, players which are nowhere close to their all star status
Sayin all that cuz you wanted someone who didnt have the mvp to win it because you selt it would be good like the mvp is a subjective award
"Turns out all you have to do to break the nuggets offense is...."
Yeah, or they adjust like they did tonight like the defending champions who lost the 1 seed off a tiebreaker. Denver completely dominated this team tonight.
Prisoners of the Moment all around after a bad home game performance.
Who is here after 2-2
Anddddd this video is already outdated.
he is dumb
Nick Wrights comment about “The NBA needs to do something about this elevation thing” looks so bad right now 😂. Another excuse because Lakers go whopped 😂.
What I find disgusting is how the media and youtubers react to joker winning the MVP and how they correlate Denver current state with his achievement. Im pretty sure jokic will be alone in this war. People easily forget, jokic was one of the people who supported Embiid after Phylly was bounce out by the Celtics. He showed love and support for Embiid and his MVP.
But sisnce jokic is "the white dude who cant jump" he is easily targeted by the talking heads. Its distasteful how even shaq reacted to him.
Not very surprised about the whole Shaq thing he really doesn’t take well to other centers being successful/praised, see his thoughts on AD, Embid, Dwight Howard etc for reference. He really struggles with acknowledging the talent of those who might challenge his place as the n1 big man
This takes will look very dumb after Denver advances to WCF and win another chip. Mark my words!
Aged like milk 😉
I love watching these in hindsight lol that blowout last night was phenomenal
Aged like milk
I feel like a big factor towards Jokic winning MVP was because the general consensus was that Embiid robbed Jokic of an MVP last year. On top of Jokic having a great season this year
Jokic also simply had the best combination of team and individual success this season
I think people will look back and say that Jokic should have threepeated in 2023, but that Embiid could’ve had a season that won him an MVP by consensus in 2024 had he not gotten injured.
Most people said he's the best player in the league all season regardless of the Embiid situation.
@@fortynights1513 There are no iff's.... Embiid played 39 games this season
And in this video, we see that Rusty is just another casual basketball fan.
VORP:
Jokic #1 at 10.8
Luka #2 at 8.0
WS/48:
Jokic #1 at 0.299
Luka #5 at 0.220
WS:
Jokic #1 at 17.0
Luka #5 at 12.6
BPM:
Jokic #1 at 13.2
Luka #2 at 9.9
PER:
Jokic #1 at 31.0
Luka #4 at 28.1
Also Jokic's team record is better than Luka's team.
How should Luka win MVP?
These clowns are impressed by the James Harden stat line lol. Jokic gets it done in an almost effortless manner meanwhile Luka is ball hogging like his life depends on it and deliberately trying to rack up stats to fool casuals.
Exactly
Loving how Game 3 is going lol, people just love to forget its a 7 game series, im not saying the nuggs are gonna win but it sure would be funny if in 6-7 weeks they have repeated. I mean the overreaction from 2 games in a series hasnt been this bad since I cant remember when
Here after game 3, looks like made up for game 2, Jokic 100% deserved mvp over Luka
Meanwhile Denver is about to Win In 6. Jokic being a Defensive Anchor
“Luka should be the mvp” and then only talks about Luka for 30 seconds
You need to take down this video lmao, or at least issue an apology.
After everything that's happened I truly hope the Nuggets bounce back and win the championship again. It's cool to see them turn into underdogs/villains all of the sudden.
Rusty just had to reverse curse the nuggets . Lol Vegas needs to follow your videos.
Whos here after Denver evened it up 2-2?!
Why are you talking like the people you criticized before? The MVP doesn't mean anything outside of the award. Fuck the "narrative" - Jokic statistically won this as he did last year long before the season concluded.
Jokic's MVP is not a fraud... Why is everyone so damn Salty? Channel should be called Also Salty Buckets...
This aged poorly.
Also, completely unrelated, but holy shit Jrue Holiday is ass in the playoffs
Making me glad the Celtics signed him to that extension 😂😂
As a bucks fan we tried to tell y’all.
@@420_blaise_it6 I've always known that Jrue tends to dip in the playoffs, but goddamn. The past 2 years, he genuinely is one of the worst players in the playoff
And they put him on team USA instead of kyrie 🤷🏿♂️
@@naoikeda9472Has he been bad defensively in the playoffs?
Awards are completely meaningless if they're given out as sympathy awards. I am dumbfounded that so many people seem to think that it's a good argument, makes me seriously question their intellect.
A 16-4 run in the playoffs is a 100% CONVINCING RUN AND CHAMPIONSHIP 🏆
Common man, let's be serious
Why can't we announce the awards during the play-in tournament? It's that gray area between the regular and post season
“Should it have been third place?” - 5 people and fuckin Rusty
5:23 Welp we're gonna need an update on this for sure.
A completely deserved REGULAR season award for Jokic which he had badically won 2 months ago already. As much as I also wanted Luka to win it Jokic was on a clearly better level during the regular season
Bro ask any Mavs fan. The Cavs have games where they just randomly can't miss out of nowhere. That half court game winner from Max Struss still has me fucked up. The whole team was hitting crazy shots and *THAT SHOT* broke me.
That game was so trash 😂 I was so pissed when Strus got that ridiculous lucky streak where he drilled every 3 and the game winner. It would be really satisfying to watch the Mavs destroy the Cavs in a 7 game series but the Cavs aren’t good enough for that to ever happen
First time I’ve had to dislike one of your videos. Since when is Denver’s championship not respectable?
Now I’m patiently waiting on the nuggets going back to Denver tied 2-2
Nuggets in 7
This take is aging like milk. Who cares if he didn’t want it, that’s not the point….
Are we just going to ignore that the team with a small rotation has 3 big injuries, 1 to their second best player? I feel Wolves would've still won game 2, but wouldn't have been the humiliation. Murray is obviously troubled and lacking that take off speed so can't shed his defender. A lot of what Jokic does is find the running Murray or fake he's going to pass, giving him more space. Murray and KCP aren't getting away from their defenders so his pass options are limited and then he's having to try and barrel through a very long and tough defensive unit. The Nuggets last year were a glass cannon and they, while being a great team, were 1 injury away from not winning that championship, this year they have an even smaller rotation and now have the injuries and we're seeing just how fragile that leaves them. Takes nothing away from how they went in the regular season though.
Well said 💯 Rotation really stinging them right now
This is what the CBA wants. You cannot build a deep team, unless you get guys outperforming their contracts. 75% of NBA owners don't care about winning, and just want their payrolls to be low.
This is not the first time an MVP got beat out Hakeem did it to David Robinson which tarnished his legacy , and made Hakeem a legend by how well he out played that season's MVP.
Exept Jokic won THE CHAMPIONSHIP before ever having all star teammate, and without ring chasing like Lebron, KD etc...his leagacy is secured...lol...
It seems simple to me, why don’t they just announce mvp before the post season starts to avoid awkward timing like this ?
As the season winded down I felt like it became a 2 way race between Jokic and Luka with Shai 3rd, Giannis/Brunson swappable for 4th/5th. So the overall top 5 didn't really bother me but Luka at 3rd is really weird. I thought he should've won with how he and his team performed down the stretch. It seems like Luka already has voter fatigue for an award he's never won
Shit timing aside, I think it would've been good for the league for Luka to get it. Dude was the scoring champion and was right behind Curry in 3PM per game. Also not as relevant but the kind of joy that Luka has for the game is very refreshing
When you attempt 10 3's a game, you should be making a lot in total threes. Not dissing Luka or anything, but Scoring champ ≠ MVP, and I really like Luka, I really do, but there are very very legit arguments and reasons to why Jokic won it
@@mihailopavlovic2027 i hear that, he is a volume shooter so that efficiency is always gonna be inconsistent. I feel like at this point MVP is now just a narrative award, and that’s not a diss at Jokic but it makes it clear for his case
@@TheLolman3433 Yeah, I mean the thing about Jokic is if he wanted to, he could average 35 easily. Luka is an amazing player, I supported Mavs my whole life because of Dirk, he was my idol, I wouldnt mind if he wins a ring and few MVPs, but i feel like because Jokic's advanced stats were so much ahead of the others it makes him worthy of an MVP, Luka is too. Maybe if Joel didnt get it the way he did last season Jokic wouldnt have gotten this one, I feel like that has played a part as well
@@TheLolman3433if it was a narrative award, Shai would have won
This is a good take. The discomfort of Embiid last year has contributed to the sentiment this season regarding Jokic's win @@mihailopavlovic2027
Wonder what Rusty's thoughts on Jokic winning MVP are now 🫣
Sports media is the best job because you basically gamble without putting any money in, and the only consequence is that sometimes you have to apologize, then u get paid.
Love the overreaction by the entire media world to 2 bad games.
Talking about fraud MVP, but Embiid got it last year 😂
It's pathetic that so many people said that the winner is a fraud because the player they want didn't win it.
This year, there was 4 deserving player (Jokic, Alexander, Doncic and Edwards) who deserved the award equally but only one of them could have it so any choice was a good one and none was a bad one.
Honestly this MVP convo doesn’t matter in the long run. Proving you can get one, that’s all anyone really looks for. Jokic is currently at the level of a Moses Malone, a great, overlooked player from the past who had one dominant postseason, one championship, one Finals MVP. Jokic isn’t in GOAT conversations yet. If he can get another ring eventually, we’ll see.
Good news for Jokic, his skill set aged well typically. Assuming he’s healthy he shouldn’t have much of a drop off, even when no longer at his peak
As long as he actually keeps exerting effort towards basketball. Dude seems like he barely cares half the time. I’m not sure he’ll be able to keep up his performance with seemingly little passion for the game as he ages
@@dpendif they 3 peat he should retire ☠️
Shaq vibes comin from you bro 😂
People gonna act like bron mj kobe kareem bird magic necer had a bad series or bad games, when was the last time jokic had a bad game before the 2 game this series????
Stop the cap jokic is the mvp even if he gets sweep
He was the best player all season. It is what it is. Casuals are impressed by Luka stat padding.
even if they get clapped it’s ok to have a bad playoff outing especially after u just won the chip the previous year
Last year they didn't want to give Jokic MVP due to lack of post season success. Now he has a ring, and people are still saying 1 ring is not enough to be a 3 time MVP. Fan fact - LeBron won his 3rd MVP ringless and coming off of an embarassing finals appearance, and his 4th MVP before winning his 2nd championship. Obviously not identical situations, but people pretend giving out regular season MVPs before having multiple rings is outrageous. It is understandable to not want someone to end up with multiple MVPs and no post season success, but it doesn't work like that, if they deserve the award, give them the award. You can't hand out awards based on how you want the history to look, the history should be created naturally by awarding the deserving winners. I don't even like Jokic that much, but I dislike stupid takes even more.
Game 2 was embarassing but not because nugs suck. It was embarassing because this champ caliber team straight up gave up.
Dont get it twisted about their talent though.
W edit from rudy at the end; stitching two separate clips into one cohesive outro is not easy.
Jokic 3x mvp, allstar
Vs
ant (allstar)
kat (allstar)
rudy (4x dpoy)
naz (6man)
I want to see nuggets comeback and win it 😂😂😂
But im fine if wolves win it as well.
People gonna talk the internet never shuts up, Jokic like I understand that so whatever to narratives, debates all that probably keeps the man at peace to play ball, race horses and kick it with his loved ones , thats enough for some anayways!
The media/voters spent the whole year saying Luka would be MVP but they are a play in team. Went on to win 50 games with Luka going 33, 10, 9 and they changed up quick. Might as well said it was set by half season. Getting that many 1st place votes is horrific as well.
Most people accepted Jokic was the best player in the league. Putting up Harden stats doesn't make an MVP. Jokic wins in more important advances stats anyway. Luka fans are delusional. He's a chucker.
@@kenlen8029 seems your delusions are no different ending that with ‘he’s a chucker’…. I didn’t criticise Jokics case once but I guess you wanted to tell me you’re a Jokic Stan without actually saying it?
@@lemonlazer5687 Nope. Jokic has been the best player in the league though.
jokic absolutely had a case for mvp and im not upset that he won really but the fact it wasn’t even close is insane… im honestly more upset that through out the season after embiid went down jokic just stayed at 1 even through bad stretches while shai and luka were playing amazing the zero movement makes no sense at all to me
So what now that Denver came back
You don’t know as much about basketball as I thought previously. You overreact to the last game without really knowing much
Poor timing for mvp, but it's a regular season award, and people shouldn't let post-season narratives affect it. Just like last year with Embiid.
Saying this in case Luka or Shai beat the Timberwolves because you know we're gonna hear it.
Yo, where's the video after 3 straight losses?
I'm SO excited for today's game.
Awesome to see Jokic get his third in four years. He’s tagged the record book with his name time and time again. He plays more games raises his teammates farther and is most certainly the most valuable player. Advanced stats show he is clearly transcendent. Making excuses not to reward. His talent is absurd.
I can’t blame players for playing inefficient against a dominant defensive team but when the player is set up and stated by many fans including myself to be one of greatest offensive players of all time getting stopped, he’s just not looking as dominant. This Timberwolves defense is one of the best defensive teams I have ever seen, I doubt many players or even teams find easy looks.
If Denver win it's gonna be hilarious. So many people overreacting.
People have a tendency to overreact and over-analyse. Minnesota had the personnel, coaching and team wide buy in to contain Denver and beat them. It's not just any team out there capable of doing that. Every star has a bad series, Jokic is having his, all part of the game.
Also, if we are talking about bad postseasons, Luka is having a horrible one. He is shooting 26.5% from 3 on 10 attempts per game, his fg% is 40.9, he has the rebounds and assists to compensate, but so does Jokic. Jokic only shoots bad from 3, but he is a center and takes around 4 a game, he is no.1 in apg in the playoffs, he averages 15 rebounds and 27 points, he legit had like 1-2 bad games and everyone overreacts..
Jokic ain't no fraud, but the glazing was getting pretty insane.
What are you referring to?
Are we not supposed to praise the guy with 3 MVPs and a fmvp in the last 4 years?
I mean him and Gianni's are the only guys who have an argument for being the best player over the past 5 years, of fucking course we hyped him
Even now, who is better than Jokic? Do people think ANT is better than Jokic now? They want to say that. Do people think that Shai or Luka will do better against this Wolves defense?
The Luka gawk is getting ridiculous.
Announcing regular season awards during the playoffs is beyond stupid. I wish the NBA would change that.
Well the referees are also allowing the players to play full court D and play through contact and with contact unlike anything they have done in nearly 20 years if you ask me. Just look at the playoff point avg it fell by damn near 10 points compared to the regular season!
Awards like this don’t mean anything in my view. It means you were a great player. Which is already a given. It doesn’t mean you were the best or most valuable. Never has.
Guys did you know if you have a good matchup vs a team you can win games against them😃
Exactly hahaha. LBJ fan mentality where fans only see the player making the win instead as a team, but when loses blames a player or the team. Reverse that and you have what Denver and Jokic is having from those fans.
Realistically, I don't think Luka had any chance of winning the MVP and I dont think he deserve it.
Let's recall what the MVP is historically:
Since 1990, 20 of the 34 MVPs were on teams with the best record in ALL of the NBA, 7 were on teams with the second best record, 2 were on teams with the third best record, 2 were on teams with the fourth best record, and one was on a team with the fifth best record. Overall standing was always the main argument. Note that I'm not talking about seeding but about overall record, and that I stopped counting in 1990 but you can go back to the merger and still see a similar trend (maybe even more biased towards the best overall record).
The Mavs are the 6th team in the overall standings (tied with the Knicks).
Out of those 34 MVPs we have only two left, and they are the only two on teams worst than fifth overall in the standings: Westbrook during his first triple-double season when KD left OKC for the Warriors (10th), and Jokic having the best PER season of all-time while his two best teammates were hurt (10th). So in those two cases we have a truly historical season + a really strong narrative.
The MVP is historically awarded to the best player on the best team, or at least to the best player on one of the best teams, depending on the narrative and voters fatigue. Historical seasons are rarely awarded, and if they are it's because they're truly groundbreaking and because their narrative is great.
Luka doesnt have stats that are THAT important historically speaking, doesnt have a strong narrative to back him up and he is not in a really high overall standing team.
Is Luka the best overall player in the league ? Yes, probably, that doesnt make him the MVP tho.
Shai and Jokic were the only 2 realistic candidates, Tatum wasn't a realistic candidate because the narrative is actively against him (for good or bad reasons, that's not the point).