Just a few months ago, Nikola Jokic was the runaway MVP with the latest straw poll calling the star big man a lock to take home the award.
But a recent slide by Denver has changed the situation very quickly for Jokic, who finds himself on the hot seat in the aftermath of Denver’s latest defeat at the hands of the New York Knicks. It’s their fifth loss in just six games.
“Nikola Jokic downfall is here and we are EATING GOOD,” teased one critic.
Nikola Jokic downfall is here and we are EATING GOOD pic.twitter.com/htFOYbO6Su
— Philly Sports Sufferer (@mccrystal_alex) March 18, 2023
“Nikola Jokic not getting another MVP,” wrote one Twitter user.
Nikola Jokic not getting another MVP pic.twitter.com/VzK1fhUvGX
— 🌟🌟MJðŸ‡ðŸ‡¹(Truly Humble Under God) (@ATLienMJ) March 18, 2023
Another fan listed some of the stats from the Knicks game, knowing that the Joker struggled to make shots down the stretch.
https://twitter.com/Maxeyhewrote/status/1637174929320820736
NBA MVP voting committee stats nerds explaining why this L was actually a W because Jokic lost in an efficient manner on offense pic.twitter.com/pD1AJKYNgS
— Sports Enjoyer (@crydamoure400) March 18, 2023
Another critic posted this: “We never seen an athlete fumble the MVP award like what Nikola Jokic doing right now…”
We never seen an athlete fumble the MVP award like what Nikola Jokic doing right now pic.twitter.com/0AspY15uCL
— kingtisemedia (@kingtisemedia) March 18, 2023
Clearly, the Jokic haters are crawling back to the surface amid tough times for the Nuggets. But do the naysayers really have a point?
While there is no denying Jokic’s body of work this season (averaging 24.8 points, 11.9 rebounds, and 9.9 assists per game on 63% shooting), his team’s slippage of late might have been enough to change the MVP conversation.
On the verge of winning his third straight, Nikola was always going to have to outperform the competition if he wanted to secure another. And while he managed to take a significant lead at the start, there’s another star who is loudly building his own campaign.
Will Joel Embiid Win His First MVP?
As the runner-up for several years now, 76ers star Joel Embiid must feel like he has been robbed of the MVP honor multiple times already. But this season is his finest one yet and he may very well have the trophy in the bag.
“I think that has to account for something,” Warriors star Draymond Green said. “So in my MVP race with 13 games or how many ever these teams got, I think Joel has definitely created a tad bit of separation, but in saying that, you have to change the mind of voters. Voters the last 2 years have favored Jokic, and he’s won it 2x, so you have to change that mindset of voters. That’s a tough thing to do in changing anyone’s mind about anything.”
It’s not too late for Jokic to make a late push for MVP and even the odds again, but he’s going to have to figure out what’s wrong with his team before he can worry about that.
Needless to say, this is not how the Nuggets wanted to look heading into the NBA playoffs.
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