Early NBA MVP Votes Pin Nikola Jokic as Winner Over Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
The early returns on MVP voting show Nikola Jokic as the likely winner.
By leading the Oklahoma City Thunder to the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference this season, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander cemented his MVP-worthy season.
Averaging 30.1 points, 6.2 assists and 5.5 rebounds per game while shooting 54% overall was likely already enough, but doing so in 57 wins was the icing on top.
Still, that might not be enough in the current NBA.
Nikola Jokic, already a two-time winner of the coveted award, seems to be cruising to his third in the early returns of the media voting. Votes tracked down by fans see Jokic as the heavy favorite, with voters like Bill Simmons, JJ Redick, Ryen Russillo, Ernie Johnson and more saying they’ve cast their vote for the NBA champion.
Only two recorded media members have cast their votes for Gilgeous-Alexander to win, those being Kendrick Perkins and Stephen A. Smith. As of Monday, Gilgeous-Alexander had the second-most votes, edging out Luka Doncic 69-60.
Jokic was the favorite for the last stretch of the season, and it’s easy to see how he could be in line to land his third trophy: 26.4 points, 12.4 rebounds and 9.0 assists with shooting splits of 58-36-82.
Still, Gilgeous-Alexander’s two-way performance this year was one to be celebrated. And he’ll undoubtedly have more chances at the award as OKC will look to contend in the foreseeable future.
The Thunder will now wait for the conclusion of the West Play-In games to find out their first round opponent. The Lakers and Pelicans tip off at 6:30 p.m. tonight, followed by Warriors-Kings at 9 p.m.
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