For the past couple months, it has certainly seemed as if the NBA MVP race has been between two players. Those two, of course, are Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic. One of those two, Jokic, has won three MVPs in the past four seasons. The other, Gilgeous-Alexander, was the runner-up to Jokic in 2023-24 MVP voting. After the events that took place on Sunday and Monday, the MVP race doesn’t seem to be anymore clear.
NBA MVP Race No More Clear After Two Thunder/Nuggets Tilts
Round 1: SGA
It was an exciting time for NBA fans. The two MVP favorites would be playing each other back-to-back days on Sunday and Monday, with both games in Oklahoma City.
The first of the two meetings went to Oklahoma City and Gilgeous-Alexander. The Thunder were able to prevail by the score of 127-103. A game that was close for much of the first three quarters turned into a blowout after OKC outscored Denver 41-20 in the final stanza.
It certainly was an MVP-like performance for Gilgeous-Alexander. The 26-year-old wasn’t accurate from three-point range (2-11), but he still finished the outing with 40 points. He also added eight rebounds, five assists, and three blocks.
Jokic was productive in the loss, but he didn’t make an impact as Gilgeous-Alexander did with the game in the balance. He also struggled from deep (2-10) as well as the foul line (2-6). Jokic seemed to have a minor elbow ailment that was possibly affecting his shot. The 30-year-old had a final line of 24 points, 13 rebounds, nine assists, and three blocks.
Round 2: Joker
The two teams battled it out again the following day, this time to a different result. Denver took this one by the score of 140-127. Trailing by six at halftime, the Nuggets outscored the Thunder 73-54 in the second half.
It is no surprise that Jokic proved to be the catalyst in Denver’s successful second half. For the game, the 6-foot-11 center had 35 points, 18 rebounds, and eight assists. The outing was an efficient one for Jokic, who focused much more on taking it inside. He went 15-20 from the field, 1-2 from three-point range, and 4-5 from the charity stripe.
Just like Jokic didn’t have a bad game in Denver’s loss, neither did Gilgeous-Alexander for OKC. It just wasn’t as impactful as his MVP candidate counterpart. The 6-foot-6 guard scored 25 points, grabbed three rebounds, and dished out seven assists.
NBA MVP Race Seems To Remain In The Balance
There is a chance that a clear favorite would have emerged if one team were to have won both games. That wasn’t the case. Not only that, but the two squads split their first two meetings earlier in the season, both taking place in Denver.
On the season, Gilgeous-Alexander is posting averages of 32.7 points, 5.1 rebounds, 6.2 assists, 1.8 steals, and 1.1 blocks. He has a fairly comfortable lead in the scoring title race over Giannis Antetokounmpo (30.9).
Meanwhile in the 2024-25 season, Jokic is averaging 28.9 points, 13.0 rebounds, 10.5 assists, 1.8 steals, and 0.7 blocks. He is attempting to become the third player after Oscar Robertson and Russell Westbrook to average a triple-double in a season.
Buckle up, this NBA MVP race will likely come down to the wire.
Photo credit: © Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images
The post NBA MVP Race No More Clear After Two Thunder/Nuggets Tilts appeared first on Last Word On Basketball.