Bobby Portis Shares Thoughts on Nikola Jokic's MVP Chances

With just under two weeks to go until the NBA regular season comes to an end, the clock is ticking before this year's league MVP will officially become finalized, and the landscape is shaping up like it could be a closer finish than expected.

Denver Nuggets' star Nikola Jokic is on pace to average a triple-double for a second straight season, but he's currently third on the MVP ladder behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Victor Wembanyama. The end of the year is right around the corner to leave little time for things to shift much from how they've settled, but a few electric performances might be able to turn the tides one way or another.

However, when asking around the league to canvass who should be worthy of those MVP honors, Milwaukee Bucks big man Bobby Portis is one of the latest names to make a clear case as to why Jokic should at least be one of the two candidates to have a shot at the end of the year.

"I get the Wemby talk, because obviously, his team's winning," Portis said via an interview with Run It Back on FDTV. "You've been seeing Jokic on the MVP ballot for five, six years now. Obviously, you've been seeing SGA on it for the last three years. He won last year. But obviously, guys want to see Wemby or somebody new on the ballot. And it's kind of interesting every year where it's kind of voted on discretion. But in my honest opinion, it got to be SGA or Jokic."

Bobby Portis believes SGA or Nikola Jokic deserves to win MVP 👀🏆

"Other than those two, I don't see anybody else that's worthy."@BPortistime | @MichelleDBeadle | @ChandlerParsons | @TeamLou23 pic.twitter.com/ymERQmTLBV
— Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) March 30, 2026

Bobby Portis Says Jokic, SGA Deserve MVP Most

As to why Jokic and Gilgeous-Alexander are the two most worthy of the nod, the logic comes simply for Portis: both have been driving, dominant forces for their respective teams all-season-long––to the point where there might be a case for the league's first co-MVP to be well within reach.

"Jokic is averaging another triple-double this season. He get to it," Portis continued. "He make the game look so easy out there. I was watching him last night against the Warriors, they were down at half. It just came out dominated and took over the game. And then, obviously, SGA, what he does for his team is– I don't want to say his name– it's like [Michael] Jordan, for real. Can't nobody guard SGA... So, it's gonna be one of those two, bro."

"Other than those two, I don't see anybody else that's kind of worthy for it. Those are like the top-two candidates. I don't know if there's gonna be a co-MVP this year. It's gonna be hard to pick one, but it might be our first time having a co-MVP, in my opinion. It's hard to pick one this season."

May 9, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) defends on Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) in the second half during game three of the second round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

In reality, it could be tough for Jokic to climb back to the top of the MVP totem this late in the season, barring any unforeseen changes. Gilgeous-Alexander and the OKC Thunder might be the ones taking clear command of those honors for a second straight year, strictly due to his dominant campaign both on an individual and a team standpoint.

But at the very least, Jokic has certainly been putting together some of the best individual numbers of his historic career thus far all season long, and will be an easy shoo-in for an All-NBA selection.

And as long as he's playing at this rate, he'll most definitely keep the Nuggets right within the hunt for a second title at the end of the year; an honor much sweeter than anything a fourth MVP could provide.

Sign up for our free Denver Nuggets On SI newsletter, and get breaking Nuggets news delivered to your inbox daily!