Nikola Jokic Deserved More Recognition in MVP Race as SGA Takes It Home

The Denver Nuggets' 2025-26 season has now ended with more disappointment. ESPN's Shams Charania reports that Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has taken home the NBA MVP award for the second straight year, beating out Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic.

Jokic was leading the MVP race for the first two months of the season, as he started his campaign on a historic pace, but a mid-season knee injury that sidelined him for a month also put him in the backseat of this year's MVP battle. After losing MVP to Gilgeous-Alexander last season (71 to 29 first-place votes), Jokic has fallen short of the Thunder star yet again.

Breaking: Oklahoma City Thunder's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has won his second consecutive NBA Most Valuable Player award, becoming the 14th player in league history to win back-to-back MVPs, multiple sources tell ESPN.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) May 17, 2026

Before his injury, Jokic was averaging 29.6 points, 12.2 rebounds, 11.0 assists, and 1.4 steals through 32 games, while shooting 60.5% from the field, 43.5% from three-point range, and 85.3% from the free-throw line. Jokic was en route to a historic season, which would have been very hard to deny him of his fourth MVP award. However, he slowed down after the injury.

In 33 games after the injury, Jokic's numbers dipped, averaging 25.8 points, 13.5 rebounds, and 10.5 assists, while shooting 53.3% from the field, 31.9% from beyond the arc, and 81.0% from the charity stripe. Jokic's efficiency took a big hit, and whether the injury was the reason or not, his MVP campaign certainly took a hit.

Did Jokic deserve more MVP recognition?

Apr 30, 2026; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) seats on the bench before the second half begins against the Minnesota Timberwolves during game six of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Target Center. | Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images

Despite the injury impact, Jokic still finished the season with a slim chance at MVP. He led the Nuggets to 12 consecutive wins to end the regular season, and he continued to record MVP-caliber stat lines.

Jokic finished the season by averaging a 27-point triple-double, becoming just the second player in NBA history to do so in multiple seasons. He also became the first player in NBA history to lead the league in both assists (10.7) and rebounds (12.9) per game in the same season, still managing to put together a historic campaign, despite the impact of his knee injury.

The Nuggets finished the season with a 54-28 record, good for the third seed in the West. Considering the injuries they dealt with, specifically, Aaron Gordon, Peyton Watson, Christian Braun, and Cam Johnson missing a combined 140 games, Jokic did all he could to keep the Nuggets afloat.

Just by looking at the facts, it is hard to pinpoint exactly where Jokic lost this year's MVP award, but we can certainly see why Gilgeous-Alexander won.

SGA deserves his flowers

May 11, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) during the second half in game four of the second round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Crypto.com Arena. | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

While many fans can argue in Jokic's favor, it is hard to make the case against Gilgeous-Alexander. The Thunder superstar averaged 31.1 points, 4.3 rebounds, 6.6 assists, and 1.4 steals per game, shooting 55.3% from the field and 38.6% from three-point range.

Most notably, he led the Thunder to the top record in the NBA at 64-18, even though co-star Jalen Williams missed 49 of their 82 games.

By winning two consecutive MVP awards and last year's Finals MVP, Gilgeous-Alexander has certainly taken the "best in the world" crown from Jokic, and he deserves it. Gilgeous-Alexander has quickly turned into one of the most dominant guards in recent NBA history, and if the Thunder win another title this year, we will truly be witnessing greatness.

Against any other opponent, Jokic likely would have taken home his fourth and fifth career MVP awards over the last two seasons, but Gilgeous-Alexander deserves his flowers.

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