Stephen A. Smith has come out and launched his support for the Shai Gilgeous-Alexander MVP campaign.
“He’s the No. 1 seed in the west as we speak. He’s played 71 of 74 games this year. He’s 3rd in the NBA averaging 30.3 behind Luka and Giannis only. He’s had an NBA-high 50 games of 30 or more points this season. He’s shooting a career-high 53.9% from the field. 58% on 2PT shots. 36.5% from 3 point range. In 4 games against Denver, they’re 3-1, he’s averaging 26-5-5.”
(Start at 1:32)
Shai is averaging 30.3 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 6.3 assists this season. He is a phenomenal candidate for MVP because of how he oversaw the development of the Thunder from the No. 10 seed last season to possibly ending this season at No. 1. If they do finish with the top seed, it might be impossible to dispute Shai’s credentials as the league MVP.
The message isn’t as bad as the messenger, as Stephen A’s knowledge kept falling short in this case when he claimed Shai is the league leader in assists and made some generic assumptions about what Jokic and Doncic are achieving to prop Shai’s stats up even further.
Smith also claimed that Jalen Brunson should be ranked ahead of Doncic in the MVP race because the Knicks are a higher seed, completely ignoring the fact that Luka has led Dallas to a better record in a tougher conference as well.
I would say take Stephen A’s opinion with a grain of salt, but he’s one of the few registered voters for the same, so it’s worrying to see NBA analysts with inaccurate knowledge of what’s transpiring.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Is A Popular Choice For MVP
Stephen A. might have said some disagreeable things in the clip, but his choice of Shai for MVP is a popular one. Shaquille O’Neal recently crowned Shai as his MVP after the Thunder had played 70 games on the season.
“The MVP is SGA. He meets my criteria and everybody else’s criteria. He’s the baddest player in the game and their team is 49-21.”
The only candidate capable of winning the MVP at this point in the season outside of Shai is Nikola Jokic. Jokic is averaging 26.1 points, 12.3 rebounds, and 9.0 assists this season, fighting the thunder for the No. 1 seed. If the Nuggets secure the No. 1 seed, Jokic is likely going to earn the honor for the third time in his career.
The two outside candidates are Doncic and Giannis Antetopkounmpo. Luka and the Mavs have saved their season, but it might be a little too late for Doncic to make an MVP push, even with his 34.0 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 9.8 assists stats.
Giannis is having one of the best individual seasons of his career, but playing in a much-weaker Eastern Conference and struggling for consistency like the others has made his case ebb into the back of everyone’s minds. This year’s MVP race will go down to the wire, as all four players will still think they have a shot.
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