Mindsetsandreps | Knicks

497 | 10 hours ago

Have the voting results always come in dribs and drabs like this? I don’t recall that

LeighHart | Nuggets

585 | 10 hours ago

This isn’t official results from the NBA. It’s confirmed voters posting online who they voted for and people collating that

Turk1518 | Thunder

118 | 9 hours ago

Last year there was a guy with a tracker that was tracking every disclosed NBA media members votes. Always fun to check in to see who has the craziest takes.

Skank_hunt42 | Thunder

69 | 9 hours ago

Here’s the link. He’s pretty actively tracking votes. I had it up on a 4th monitor yesterday and I think he added 2 different votes. Rightclick open in private if you don’t want your gmail showing up.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1KMzwRcilLDej0BWl7eYE_OYC9Tx9olI_Ptn-nHjKfpQ/edit?pli=1&gid=643451732#gid=643451732

E: as I say that’ he’s currently adding someone elses vote right now.

twrs_29 | Thunder

79 | 8 hours ago

Was this just a way to flex that you have 4 monitors

Skank_hunt42 | Thunder

65 | 8 hours ago

Nah. At work, having 4 monitors isn’t a flex. It’s a problem.

MrFishAndLoaves | Pelicans

6 | 3 hours ago

Not if one of those monitors is exclusively for live NBA Awards voting tracking

Jjjt22

7 | 7 hours ago

4th monitor? How many you working with? I am holding on at 2. I know some have gone to 3. But I am stubborn.

LeighHart | Nuggets

9 | 9 hours ago

Do you mean voting for all rookie and all def teams for example? Cause I think that was the same people. Haven’t checked if it’s on this years sheet

Skank_hunt42 | Thunder

4 | 9 hours ago

Same guy, Same link tabs are at the bottom.

Striking-Medium2360 | Thunder

1 | 7 hours ago

That’s literally what this post is talking about lol

SeveralMycologist205 | Lakers

6 | 7 hours ago

I remember this same thing happening for the past few years, there was a google sheet or something at one point as well

OBS_INITY

469 | 10 hours ago

Jokic is probably done getting MVPs unless the Nuggets win 70 games.

SGA will probably win this one and then he’ll be done as well.

The MVP award is always dumb.

Skinnieguy | Pelicans

112 | 8 hours ago

I already can see Wemby hype building up for next year. SGA probably getting close to peaking while Wemby has room to grow. But at the same time Spurs going to manage Wemby’s usage (understandable).

SGA probably had one more before voter fatigue really sets in.

Feels bad for Luka.

carlonia | Lakers

68 | 7 hours ago

They are desperate to give the MVP to Wemby

_19911118 | Raptors

4 | 5 hours ago

There’s also the segment of ppl who are desperate to not give it to Shai again. But if you watch Wemby play how are you not left amazed

carlonia | Lakers

3 | 5 hours ago

That’s not Shai specific though, it’s just voter fatigue. Some people will just not vote for Jokic anymore even if he deserves it.

PsychologicalArt7451 | Warriors

9 | 6 hours ago

I could see Luka getting it next season simply because his level of play is too ridiculous for him to not even have one.

lawschoolthrowaway36 | Lakers

28 | 6 hours ago

You’re forgetting how many of the voters are on the record making clear they’ll never vote for him. He’s disliked by a lot of media members. That’s just the reality. I don’t see a scenario where he ever wins MVP regardless of his performance.

He played good defense for months in 2026 and people still trashed his defense during that span. The quotes about him this year from actual voters, not casual fans, were wild. And that’s not factoring in influential types like Windhorst and Lowe who are on the record saying they can’t stand watching him play basketball, that he’s unwatchable, etc.

PsychologicalArt7451 | Warriors

7 | 6 hours ago

The problem with Luka is that the narrative is against him and he hasn’t had a year where his performances have been good enough for him to win either way. He came close in 2024.

SGA is historically efficient, plays good D and the best player on the best team, Jokic is also historically efficient, while being the best player itw and carries a large offensive load. Wemby is a phenom on defense. Luka is a helio-centric player who has Lebron James and Austin Reaves with him (granted, they are basically never available at the same time) who plays below average D and cries A LOT. Next season, SGA and Jokic will be against a lot of voter fatigue, so if Luka cleans it up, the narrative will be in his favor.

Western-Election-997 | Lakers

2 | an hour ago

Who decides narrative though? Biased media. How come when he averaged 34/9/10 in 2024 he got no mvp case by media except for a very few like Nick Wright and Tim Legler?

balortech

5 | 5 hours ago

Luka can be a solid defender, but he’s still by far the worst defender out of all the MVP candidates. Wemby is the GOAT defensive talent. Giannis is a DPOY. Shai is a great defender compared to Luka. Tatum and Cade are good defenders. The only one that’s even close is Jokic, but Jokic works hard on defense, uses his IQ and doesn’t whine between plays so even he is a more conducive defender than Luka.

Luka always and will always have a mountain to climb on one half of a basketball game.

FlawlessLikeUs | NBA

2 | 4 hours ago

Lakers fans downvoting you but you’re right

ohwhatashotbycurry | Warriors

1 | an hour ago

Fuckin James harden won an mvp the only thing holding Luka back is the complaining not his poor defense

Skinnieguy | Pelicans

1 | 6 hours ago

Luka is great. But we’ll have to see what happens to LeBron. I do think the voters hate how he always complaining the refs. If he drops that and be neutral on defense, he should be in the running.

balortech

1 | 5 hours ago

This. Jokic isn’t a good defender as well, but he tries his best, uses his IQ to cover his frailties and doesn’t whine between plays. If you are not a good defender, at least do it like Jokic, not let someone blow by then look straight at a ref while your team runs back on defense.

That’s not gonna help with the perception of best player in the league.

balortech

2 | 5 hours ago

Defense matters, bro. Wemby is the GOAT defender or at least GOAT defensive talent and impacts the Spurs so damn much, he brought a roster that is expected to at best be play-ins to No. 2 seed chasing a historic OKC team the entire way.

Luka is a solid defender, but in the grand scheme of things, its like the Michael Jordan of defense vs the Mario Herzonja of defense, its not close. And that’s not even including Wemby’s 25/11/4 on offense.

Imagine Wemby with LeBron and AR. That team would take over the league already.

55555_55555 | Knicks

1 | 5 hours ago

I thought Luka was the best player in the world and MVP in 2024. He averaged 34 points a game and was genuinely Herculean with that squad. Playoffs only furthered my thoughts about what I’d seen that season, but it seemed like Jokic was always going to take based on winning the title in ‘23, but not getting the MVP. It’s a pure narrative award always. Similarly, I think Wemby has been the most impactful player this year, but Shai snatched the mantle when he won the title last year and OKC haven’t missed a beat. He’ll win it going away.

balortech

0 | 5 hours ago

Jokic was clear MVP that year, historic efficiency and 2x the votes of Luka, so its not even close. Luka wasn’t even 2nd, Shai was 2nd, Luka 3rd.

Jokic is clearly the best player in the world then. Luka getting hunted on defense by Boston in the Finals, made Nico think Dallas can never win with Luka even with a close to perfect team for his playstyle, hence the trade.

55555_55555 | Knicks

1 | 5 hours ago

I am an adult and not a Luka stan/hater, so don’t really see a need to get in a flame war with disingenuous arguments, but….

Basketball is not played in Stata, Excel, SAS, etc.
Using the Finals as an argument against Luka that year when Jokic’s Nuggets lost to a team that Luka subsequently dropped his dick on is fundamentally a stupid line of debate.

MeBadNeedMoneyNow | Thunder

2 | 3 hours ago

Luka had a great march. His team is 4 seed. There’s always room for improvement.

Skinnieguy | Pelicans

3 | 3 hours ago

Luka needs to carry the Lakers to top seed with great numbers. That’s the only thing is really missing. I think he can do it. That will definitely solve a lot of his PR problems.

MeBadNeedMoneyNow | Thunder

1 | 3 hours ago

It’s not shameful to play like him on offense and not get mvp.

K3TtLek0Rn | Celtics

1 | 3 hours ago

Luka just has an image problem and the mvp is a lot of image. He often looks lazy and complains a lot. Voters don’t like that.

Skinnieguy | Pelicans

4 | 3 hours ago

Luka’s only chance is lead the Lakers to the #1 seed with SGA numbers. I don’t see it any other way.

Western-Election-997 | Lakers

1 | an hour ago

Luka had voter fatigue before winning it

TwinFrBrooklyn | Lakers

0 | 5 hours ago

SGA got it this year and will be CPOY as well. If Wemby stays healthy, he’ll win it the next 2 years. I really thought the year Mavs got to the finals was Luka’s MVP. The path to MVP for him is not getting any better SMFH

E_boiii | Thunder

57 | 9 hours ago

If jokic wins another chip he’s back in

Tog_the_destroyer

68 | 9 hours ago

Which is fucking dumb isn’t it? Why does a championship the previous season help to win an MVP the following? Shit just doesn’t make sense

Cvwpq

71 | 8 hours ago

why are you morons making up fan fiction in your heads and then get mad at it ?

the fuck is this

JeanRalfio | MIN

15 | 7 hours ago

I have this same thought every day on this sub.

FerociousSmile

3 | 6 hours ago

Its reddit.

Narrow_Dirt_1623

4 | 9 hours ago

Does it really? Is there some correlation? I’m not really familiar with it being that way but I haven’t really been following as much as I used too.

Lopsided_Path_4460

5 | 6 hours ago

Besides the superhuman himself, Wilt Chamberlain, Michael Jordan has the record for longest break between MVP seasons, with 3. If Jokic doesn’t win next season, it’s probably a wrap

CrippledBanana | Canada

32 | 9 hours ago

I don’t think he has to win 70, being in the 60 crew will be enough for him. But yea it gets harder the more you get.

I also think shai won’t win another after this especially with the rise of Wemby. I think it’d only happen if he somehow improves his TS again or they win 70 as a team

SmokingDuck17 | Raptors

21 | 7 hours ago

Well based on the December straw poll Jokic and SGA were neck and neck for this MVP. The main issue this season is that Jokic got injured and when he came back was just really great, and not otherworldly for a stretch. Which gave SGA the edge.

Even if Denver has the same record as they did this year, if Jokic remains healthy and continues at the same pace he was on at the start and end of the this season, I think he can win it. Though it may get trickier as Wemby aims for his first.

RipCity-NBA-LoL | Trail Blazers

3 | 3 hours ago

Honestly unless he gets the double title again of rebounding and assist champ, pretty much anything Jokic does will be taken for granted.

Edit: if the 30 point triple double season and the 1st person to get a rebounding and assist title, with them coming in the same season, both won’t win it, nothing Jokic does will get him a 4th.

Outside of some fantasy land, there’s no way for him to do something more impressive. I think first top-3 in all categories last year, and 1st reb+assist titles this year. Doing never-before-seen things aren’t enough.

Luciolover345 | Thunder

19 | 8 hours ago

60 wins would be enough to have it. Shai had a 10 game gap on him this year and an 18 game gap last year. That’s insurmountable. If he won 56 games and OKC won 62 I think he’d probably have it. But he doesn’t and he doesn’t really have anyone to blame for that.

He went 15-17 in clutch games this season, while Murray went 20-17. The Nuggets went 23-19 as a whole. So their clutch record without Jokic was 8-2. If he had managed to swing a few of those he’s MVP.

No-Preference4312 | Pacers

9 | 9 hours ago

My guess is voter fatigue hits Shai next year or maybe he has a worse year and slumps slightly after two long championship runs and then wemby gets injured sometime next year and doesn’t make the cut opening it up for jokic to finally get the 4th. MVP.

yeahright17 | Thunder

6 | 8 hours ago

I think Wemby is going to win the next 2 or 3 MVPs if he’s eligible. Agree completely that Jokic will be the favorite if Wemby isn’t eligible assuming both SGA and Jokic have similar seasons again. I guess unless OKC wins 70. They probably give it to SGA again if OKC wins 70.

No-Preference4312 | Pacers

4 | 8 hours ago

Yeah it’s entirely up to whether wemby stays healthy or not cuz if he is it’s a wrap boy. The future is here and it’s ran by an alien. I do think there’s a good chance his body doesn’t hold up though so 🤷🏻‍♂️

ManagementOk4841 | Magic

2 | 3 hours ago

Yes, this how it’s always worked. You can tell most the people here are teenagers cause they would have never survived LeBron not winning MVP every year when everyone knew he was the best player every year.

Shai will win one or two more. Then it goes to Wemby to get a couple. If anyone with ²⁄₃ has an extra crazy year, they can get another. It’s literally been like this for like 25 years.

Detonation | Pistons

5 | 7 hours ago

Yep. The future Wemby agenda has been building all year long, the Spurs could win 23 games next year and the media would find a way to give every award they can to the new golden boy.

TwinFrBrooklyn | Lakers

0 | 6 hours ago

BS

not_so_bueno | Rockets

1 | 7 hours ago

It’s Wemby’s next year.

I feel like the late surge in his candidacy by the media was like WWE having John Cena or The Rock get close in their early years, but lose to set up the narrative of them winning the following year.

Aniketos33

1 | 6 hours ago

It’s not dumb when it’s your guy lol

ahoy_shitliner | Bulls

1 | 3 hours ago

We need to get away with voters fatigue in general but it’s kinda unfair given MJ and Lebrons legacies would be substantially different if it was fixed 40 years ago.

That said, i know Jokic had a ridiculous year but this is SGAs award again.

thelife3 | Bulls

424 | 11 hours ago

SGA has locked it up. Jokic was my MVP, but SGA & Wemby were both MVP caliber too, and OKC had the best team so that’s probably the tiebreaker they’ll go with

rwoteit | Vancouver Grizzlies

137 | 11 hours ago

The record with a injured team is why it won’t be close but based on his play alone he was still better over the course of the season and would have won regardless.

sophicpharaoh | Pistons

39 | 8 hours ago

I came ti say this. SGA is a top 5 or even top 3 TWO WAY guard. No one can convince me that Jokic isn’t often a mf pylon on defense. No one cares about defense for some reason…. Shai and Wemby my MVPs and I’ll stand on that.

kazyv | Mavericks

11 | 7 hours ago

it kinda bothers me when people apply this double standard on defense. SGA might be potentially a two way player, but most of the time during the regular season he really isn’t doing much on defense. but when Jokic who has proven to be able to anchor the Nuggets defense in the playoffs slacks off during the regular season, all of a sudden it’s the biggest deal ever

sophicpharaoh | Pistons

21 | 7 hours ago

The MVP Award is a REGULAR season award.

I disagree with “anchoring” the defense narrative. Gordon does that pretty well. He’s a monster on defense.

ThePringlesOfPersia | OKC

3 | 5 hours ago

I think the matchup against the Thunder is just bad for him with how he plays defense, but Jokic did not really anchor their defense against the Thunder last year. The Nuggets ran a ton of zone and sent tons of pressure at SGA to keep him out of the paint in the first place, almost always keeping two on the ball, because Jokic gave him no trouble if he was able to break the traps and no trouble in general for any of the Thunder players if they could get into the paint. Anytime they ran man defense SGA would feast in the pick and roll because Jokic wasn’t fast enough to play up on it and he couldn’t effectively play drop either. The Thunder did not shoot the ball effectively in most games so they had trouble breaking the zones but Denver still had to play defense in that way because Jokic was struggling to anchor it otherwise. Jokic is such a singular and transcendent offensive player that it offset his defensive shortcomings but he had many defensive shortcomings nonetheless.

Scrimps | Raptors

1 | 4 hours ago

He was ranked like the 55th defender in the league out of 450 players. OKC is also one of the best defensive teams in the league.

I personally feel Wemby is the MVP, but SGA is twice the defender Luka is. Luka is horrendous.

Cvwpq

3 | 8 hours ago

based

doubleoop | Hornets

80 | 11 hours ago

Yup, I don’t think it’s gonna be super close.

_Apatosaurus_ | Thunder

45 | 10 hours ago

It feels like everyone agrees the MVP race is super close between the three, but also mostly agrees that SGA is just slightly ahead. So I think the vote will look more lopsided than the race actually is simply because of how voting works.

I also feel like that’s why this has been one of the least toxic MVP races in a while. All three top players are so insane that I just can’t take issue with someone picking Jokic or Wemby. The only time it felt toxic is when Luka had a chance, and that’s mostly just because of Luka/Laker fans.

emperorwuofwei | Thunder

32 | 10 hours ago

Yeah, this stuff is hard for people to square in their headspace.

80% of the voters having it 52% Shai / 48% Jokic still results in an ⁸⁰⁄₂₀ vote split. That doesn’t mean they thought Shai was 4x more deserving.

TH3PhilipJFry | Nuggets

14 | 9 hours ago

I think there’s an interesting and impossible debate about which player is truly the most impactful and/or most valuable, but I don’t believe the MVP race is close at all, because that’s not how the award works.

It’s SGA’s and he’s done absolutely nothing to be unworthy of it. I’m much more interested in fMVP than I am in MVP if you get my drift.

Luciolover345 | Thunder

2 | 9 hours ago

I don’t blame you. Another MVP does significantly less for Jokic’s career than a second FMVP does.

mjay421

1 | 8 hours ago

I felt like the mvp race was wrapped up months ago.

Western-Election-997 | Lakers

1 | an hour ago

Nah it was because of loser OKC fans

_Apatosaurus_ | Thunder

1 | an hour ago

That’s the meanest thing anyone’s ever said to me.

Striking_Food5273

44 | 10 hours ago

Man how dumb can one be to believe that the team record is the tiebreaker? Being clutch player of the year? Having an all-time efficient season for a guard? Playing in a roster riddled with injuries? Being in the MVP convo during the WHOLE season? Ability to selfcreate is damn near unmatched?

And before anybody tells me how good his roster is, Shai’s argument is mostly his offensive game. And that OKC roster is just not that loaded offensively, especially with jdub missing most of the season

ndfan737 | Bulls

-1 | 4 hours ago

But Jokic can match everything you listed…

Being clutch player of the year?

This is hard to directly match, but we’ll substitute leading the league in rebounds and assists.

Having an all-time efficient season for a guard?

Check, but obviously not for a guard

Playing in a roster riddled with injuries?

Even considering injuries Jokic’s team is inferior

Being in the MVP convo during the WHOLE season?

Check

Ability to selfcreate is damn near unmatched?

Replace “self create” with “create for others”

Man how dumb can one be to believe that the team record is the tiebreaker?

Unless you’re arguing it’s more than the tiebreaker, it’s kind of wild to suggest team record isn’t the deciding factor between two historic seasons where one team has ten more wins.

Commercial_Floor_578

149 | 10 hours ago

Actually an extremely strong MVP season imo, there are 4 people that would be deserving MVP’s in another season. SGA had the most efficient +30ppg season of all time, with 31.1 ppg while being 14th in apg on an absurdly low assist to turnover ratio of around 3.1. Also depending on what version of true shooting is used, actually had a more efficient ts percentage than Jokic, and the most efficient above 20ppg ts.. at 31. Jokic led the league in both assists and rebounds, a feat that has never been done before, while average 27.7 ppg, which is eight in the league, on insane efficiency, depending on which form of true shooting is used, the most efficient in the league.

And while SGA and Jokic pretty clearly the most deserving MVP candidates imo (I would argue SGA personally but can easily see Jokic as well) Luka and Wemby also had incredible seasons. Luka was 1st in ppg, 2.4 ppg above second place on +3.7ts and 3rd in apg while being a good rebounder. And Wemby is consensus DPOY and arguably had one of the best defensive regular seasons in decades while also being probably a top 15 offensive player! Just a season full of incredible performances all around.

ButlerFromDowntown | Bulls

35 | 9 hours ago

It’s funny how I feel like some of Jokic’s strongest seasons have come in his non MVP years. Obviously that’s something that can happen because MVP is judged by your case relative to everyone else in your season, but I think Jokic’s past 4 seasons at this point have been better than his first two MVP years, at least statistically. Those two years just had pretty weak competition.

yeahright17 | Thunder

13 | 8 hours ago

Jokic’s last 2 seasons have been his best, imo. They just happen to run into SGA. I said it last year, and I think the same is true this year. Either of Jokic or SGA would have won any of the like ~8 MVPs if they had these kinds of seasons in one of those years. Maybe any year back to Steph’s unanimous year.

greenwhitehell

3 | 7 hours ago

I’d say stat-wise you’re right, but I think I’d put his 2022 season above some (not all) of the others after. The way he lifted what was the worst roster in the NBA without him was just absurd, was probably his 2nd best defensive season after 2024 and his impact was just otherworldly.

2021 Jokic is clearly worse than any other year after, though.

Lopsided_Path_4460

1 | 6 hours ago

You’re right about 2021 being his weakest, which is funny because that was by far his most dominant season ever

Prince_of_DeaTh | Lithuania

1 | 8 hours ago

Do people still hate if SGA is compared to Jordan, or is it fair at this point? Not saying he’s a good, but Kobe was compared to Jordan, and he was not as good either.

BrotherSeamus | Thunder

3 | 7 hours ago

In terms of cultural impact, Jordan was an international phenomenon. Even vs Kobe, SGA is not close.

In title terms, Jordan won six rings and Kobe won five. Still not a debate (yet).

The only currently valid discussion is peak efficiency, which is difficult to compare across errors.

Prince_of_DeaTh | Lithuania

3 | 7 hours ago

im just comparing playstyle and level of play, not about culture or titles, I don’t really care about those things

ChipperYT | France

2 | 6 hours ago

You have to be delusional if you think the two belong in the same conversation. I don’t think SGA has even had a strong start to end playoffs yet has he? From memory he seems to shrink in the playoffs and have good halves rather than good games.

jocro | Thunder

18 | 9 hours ago

Also depending on what version of true shooting is used, actually had a more efficient ts percentage than Jokic

worth saying it’s really just depending on “which version” so much as whether you’re using estimates or actual values. sites like basketball-reference use the old-school coefficients to try to account for FTA that come from and-1s, techs, etc.

RedditUser19984321 | Bulls

8 | 8 hours ago

It’s been this way for the past few years honestly. People forget that during a lot of Jokic’s MVP’s giannis was still putting up 30 pts and like 13 rebound averages on like 60% shooting, he would have gotten MVP’s in other seasons.

imbluedabudeedabuda | Warriors Bandwagon

3 | 8 hours ago

Wait did SGA have a higher TS than 2016 curry?

realgamergirlTM

10 | 8 hours ago

According to bbreference it’s .665 for SGA and .669 for curry, which is crazy close.

imbluedabudeedabuda | Warriors Bandwagon

3 | 7 hours ago

Wemby might be the first ‘nailed on draft superstar’ to turn into an actual legend of the game (lets say top ²⁰⁄₃₀ talks) in quite some time.

KD was in 2007, and since then we pretty much had Harden Curry Kawhi Giannis Jokic Shai all come and blow past everyone’s wildest projections of them to reach all time status

SaltyRussStan0 | Slovenia

1 | 6 hours ago

Curry’s TS+ was 124 in his MVP season, and Shai’s this season is 114. Which isn’t meant to be Shai hate, because 114 is still absurd. But I think it highlights just absolutely insane 2016 Curry was.

rwoteit | Vancouver Grizzlies

3 | 5 hours ago

Technically all that highlights is how far behind the rest of the league was.

Pterox511 | Raptors

4 | 8 hours ago

0.5% less and 1 ppg more

imbluedabudeedabuda | Warriors Bandwagon

7 | 7 hours ago

respect, what a scorer.

Pterox511 | Raptors

3 | 7 hours ago

Yeah, Curry’s 2016 season will probably never be topped for efficiency for a 30ppg season lol. Genuinely the most insane shooting season of all time by a country mile

imbluedabudeedabuda | Warriors Bandwagon

7 | 7 hours ago

i actually think it will. eventually. but from a rTS standpoint thats when we are going to see Curry keep it for longer

Instantcoffees | Warriors

2 | 7 hours ago

This is how I feel. I ultimately do think that they are each deserving and I would not be mad at whoever wins. The only thing that kind of saddens me is that history will likely remember the MVP and not all of the equally - or almost equally - deserving players.

Saturdaze-Sundaes | Knicks Julius Randle

0 | 7 hours ago

We are mega blessed to be watching amazing ball this year

Western-Election-997 | Lakers

0 | an hour ago

Jokic led in efficiency rebounds and assists, Luka in ppg. SGA was not #1 in any major stat yet it’s an extremely strong mvp season?

Conn3er | Spurs

105 | 10 hours ago

I really don’t see how you give it to anyone but SGA

Wemby, Luka, and Jokic all had some serious dry spells or injuries this year and Mr consistent showed up and handled business every night.

I’m not saying he should be unanimous but he should get over 75% of first place votes

AlmostHereButNot | Bulls

65 | 10 hours ago

The biggest compliment you can give Shai is his consistency, honestly. When he’s on the floor, you get a guaranteed 20 points at minimum. Any team in the league would benefit from that.

Cogniscience | Cavaliers

8 | 7 hours ago

Jokic is literally only 4 games behind Shai when it comes to games played this season

OwnGuarantee6838

5 | 6 hours ago

Yeah but he had a stretch from about december 30th to late february where he either played no basketball or was somewhat underwhelming due to recovering from the hyperextension.

Shai missed a few games due to an abdominal strain but luckily 40% of the time got nullified by the all star break.

Then when shai came back he proceeded to win the matchups vs Jokic 3-0 while averaging 35 points, 12 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.3 blocks on 66.3 TS%

Oh and most insane of those stats is 12.3 ssists with just 1.7 turnovers.

Zack_of_Steel | Thunder

6 | 6 hours ago

Nephews and cherry-picking a word or two out of a post to convince themselves it invalidates the rest of it because they can’t comprehend context. Name a more iconic duo.

serious dry spells or injuries

EuroLegend23

-1 | 10 hours ago

Because no one likes Shai or his team, so they don’t want him to win it. But he does deserve it. That’s the problem, a few guys this year “deserve” it.

GoofySilly-

-1 | 6 hours ago

You mean how do you give it to anyone except Jokic? Right? Right??

ryyzany | Raptors

81 | 11 hours ago

The talking heads love to discuss alternatives but at the end of the day SGA is the best player on the best team in the league. He had a ridiculously efficient year. Regardless of how frustrating he is to play against, he is the MVP.

swift_icarus | Toronto Huskies

36 | 11 hours ago

leading the league in rebounds and assists is very good.

frankly i think we have seen some of the best MVP races i can ever recall in the past 5 years or so. SGA is a deserving winner, but i can see a case for jokic,. and in a “normal era”, luca could easily have won.

TheFestusEzeli | TOR

18 | 10 hours ago

The biggest point against him last year on this sub was team record in games neither Jokic and SGA played. And now the opposite is true this year. And before you say you should look of the context of the games to see why Nuggets going 11-6 without Jokic and Thunder going 8-6 without SGA is misleading (because it 100% is), that’s what Thunder fans tried to say all of last year too.

His scoring volume on his efficiency and lack of turnovers with all of the Thunder’s injury issues makes it an extraordinary MVP year.

emperorwuofwei | Thunder

71 | 10 hours ago

The first place count is actually wrong here because Bill Simmons retconned his own SGA vote on his pod this morning. He’s still “undecided” and, by his own admission, is desperately looking for a way to vote for Jokic.

Setther

69 | 9 hours ago

This is why MVP talks are so annoying. Using mental gymnastics to NOT give it to a player.

LeoFireGod | Mavericks

0 | 5 hours ago

If we were doing MVP with no narratives at play then LeBron would have 8 and Jokic would have 4 already.

Prudent_Fish1358 | Spurs

1 | 2 hours ago

Seriously, how many years from 2008 to, say, 2018 or so was LeBron not clearly the best player in the league?

LeoFireGod | Mavericks

1 | an hour ago

Steph 2016

Dashster360 | Spurs

30 | 9 hours ago

Sorry I don’t understand. If he wants to vote for Jokic, then just vote for him. What do you mean by desperately looking for a way?

SleepyEel | Thunder

44 | 9 hours ago

He’s a Jokic stan and wants a way to justify his priors.

Not saying Jokic isn’t deserving, but Bill is trying to work through the emotional impact of not voting for Jokic

okiewxchaser | Thunder

22 | 9 hours ago

He also hates OKC with a burning passion

ChipperYT | France

5 | 6 hours ago

As someone who hates OKC with a burning passion fwiw I don’t get these vibes from him lol

He routinely talks about how good SGA, OKC are, doesn’t mention fouls/the way they are reffed etc

MeasurementEasy8727

5 | 4 hours ago

Not saying Bill Simmons hates them but you hating OKC with a burning passion would make it harder to detect that since what comes across as hate just sounds like objectivity to you. You might pick up on the things Bill Simmons says that are fair or even favorable to the Thunder since that stands out to your bias but entirely miss the more subjective “hater” takes since those align with your bias against the Thunder.

It’s like a Thunder fan saying “as an admitted Thunder homer, I don’t get the vibes that this journalist loves OKC” but then when you look into it, they’re 90% positive on the Thunder but the Thunder fan picks up on that 10% as proof that they despise OKC since the intense positivity just sounds objectively true to their confirmation bias and the negativity is what stands out. Bill Simmons could fall anywhere in between that but someone that hates OKC and someone that loves OKC are going to see it from totally different perspectives.

Prior_Chemist_5026 | Celtics

3 | 8 hours ago

This actually jibes perfectly with how he thinks. If you read the MVP chapter in his book, most of the historical mistakes in his eyes are picking a slightly inferior player over a Pantheon guy, and it’s perfectly reasonable at this moment to think Jokic will be a tier above SGA all-time.

emperorwuofwei | Thunder

7 | 7 hours ago

If you actually listen to Bill here, it’s not even about inferiority. Jokić is literally his favorite player. He wants to vote for his favorite player.

Prior_Chemist_5026 | Celtics

3 | 7 hours ago

Did he say that? On the official MVP pod he said was uncomfortable not voting for a season where a guy led in rebounds and assists, I was assuming it was similar reasoning today

emperorwuofwei | Thunder

10 | 7 hours ago

Yes. From the pod earlier this week with Goldsberry when he picked SGA, he said all of these things:

“I switched SGA and Joker all weekend and really wanted to do Joker”

“As you know, I love Joker, he’s probably my favorite non-Celtic in the league other than Curry”

“There’s too much SGA evidence, if I do Joker, it’s almost like a personal pick versus what’s the right thing”

Prior_Chemist_5026 | Celtics

2 | 6 hours ago

To me that actually sounded like he was denying his gut instinct so as not to seem biased and is now maybe going back on it. And I don’t think it’s favoritism to pick a historic Jokic year when you’re someone whose philosophically prefers guys who really elevate their teammates and who tends to default to the best player in the world for MVP discussions. (For the record I think Shai should be MVP, I just also think Jokic is really close).

emperorwuofwei | Thunder

6 | 6 hours ago

I agree that it’s not favoritism in the abstract for any voter this year to pick Jokic or Wemby. For most voters, picking any of the three is totally fine. All three candidates are super deserving and had historic seasons. Not stumping for Shai here. That said, I’m going to have to respectfully disagree about Bill.

On the pod that I quote, he basically said nothing at all about Shai – at the time his MVP pick – short of being a foul baiter. The entire segment was spent lamenting not picking Jokic. He gushes repeatedly about his 3rd place pick being the “best player he saw this year”. Listening to his pod weekly, I really can’t remember the last time he spoke about Shai in a way that wasn’t back-handed or reluctant. The guy just doesn’t like the Thunder and doesn’t like Shai’s game. For Bill Simmons as a fan, that’ also totally fine. But I really think he struggles with objectivity in his awards voting in his recent yrears.

In today’s pod, after leading the pod with his solo monologue about waffling on MVP, he later in the pod tried to lead Doc Rivers into agreeing with him about the Jokic MVP lean. Doc did not and went Shai, Wemby, Jokic.

Prior_Chemist_5026 | Celtics

1 | 4 hours ago

Yeah, that’s fair. I guess it depends on how much you want to read into that.

rwoteit | Vancouver Grizzlies

2 | 5 hours ago

Except that’s just branding. The MVP is the true one we’ve seen elevate his teammates to this level when he’s the one playing with his bench far more than any candidate, winning 1 seeds with the youngest team in the league twice and consistenly being 10 wins above the pre-season predictions. This was the 1st season he didn’t in 5 years because they were predicted over 60 wins lmbo but they’ll never put that stamp on him because he’s not a elite passer? What a narrowminded way to view how different players impact the game. Why with all that elite passing does 15’s team always underperform then I though he made everyone better. Oh no maybe as MPJ showed they’re just good players that often get vastly underrated in order to prop up him and his MVP case up and its actually fatal holes in his game that prevent his teams from reaching heights that other stars are able to.

Prior_Chemist_5026 | Celtics

1 | 4 hours ago

“Fatal holes” is ridiculous for a guy who just won a title as easily the best guy in the playoffs. Yes he slipped post-injury but his overall resume this season is on par with any of his MVP years—28-13-11-1-1 on 57-38-83 splits, turnovers slightly higher and defense slightly worse post-injury, 54 wins with a good-not-great supporting cast that was ravaged by injuries. I don’t even think he should win MVP over Shai but the notion that there’s some Jokic media mafia pushing him is silly. Maybe he’s just having a Pantheon-level peak?

emperorwuofwei | Thunder

25 | 9 hours ago

Listen to his podcasts. He even admitted as such. He logically picked Shai, but had some nebulous vibe-based second thoughts. Even in the pod where he landed on SGA originally, he spent the whole time complaining about it. I’ve never heard someone pick an MVP before without saying basically anything complimentary before then.

Setther

14 | 9 hours ago

He’s pretty much saying on his podcast that he if he votes for SGA and not Jokic in 10 years he’s going to look back on it as a mistake. He’s just trying to justify switching his vote from SGA to Jokic

Striking-Medium2360 | Thunder

5 | 7 hours ago

Also said the same thing last year and SGA won the championship and beat Jokic.

Dangerous_Ad5039

47 | 10 hours ago

Luka getting no top 3 votes is actually insane

CheetahSperm18 | DAL

12 | 9 hours ago

He was disqualified up until yesterday tbf

CIark

6 | 9 hours ago

Wouldn’t voters wait for the decision before submitting though unless they just didn’t want to vote for him

LowRune | Thunder

1 | 2 hours ago

exactly, the ones who already knew they wouldnt put him top 3 didnt need time to think about changing their votes

LemmingPractice | Raptors

1 | 9 hours ago

The end of season injury killed him.

A lot of media members announced their votes when everyone thought Luka was disqualified (before they overturned it yesterday).

DrMarvMonror

-2 | 8 hours ago

Not at all

Distinct_Shine914

1 | 17 minutes ago

He a simp

Zeeron1 | Thunder

36 | 10 hours ago

This comment sections like a wake lmao so sad and somber

Individual-Space-443 | Raptors

12 | 10 hours ago

What exactly do you want the comment section to be

Zeeron1 | Thunder

25 | 10 hours ago

Playing a game of real or fake with Lamelo quotes obviously

JitteryBug | BOS

4 | 10 hours ago

Wait should we start? lol

You get us started!

Zeeron1 | Thunder

5 | 10 hours ago

Im now realizing I need to deepen my bag of Lamelo quotes…

Expert_Koala_8691

26 | 11 hours ago

source

JP-Ziller | Canada

6 | 4 hours ago

So if SGA has 26 total votes, and Jokic has 21, does that mean 5 people don’t have Jokic on their ballot? And 13 people don’t have Luka on their ballot?

the_che | Lakers

24 | 8 hours ago

Regarding Luka, that‘s straight up ridiculous.

BushyBrowz | Knicks

2 | 7 hours ago

If he didn’t get hurt, I honestly think he would have more votes. He’d probably still end up fourth though.

Receny bias is strong.

throwawayjoeyboots

20 | 10 hours ago

The meltdowns in the comment section from the Jokic cult has already begun lmao

SungbyChoix

20 | 10 hours ago

I don’t get how leading the league in rebounds and assists matters more than being the first seed compared to the third, being ten games ahead of your competitor, having a more injury-riddled team, having the most efficient season as a guard, and all of that.

Obviously Jokic himself has some other arguments too but, if leading the league in rebounds and assists matters more than the points listed above (for MVP), then, well…

Players should forget tryna win and start trying to create these, first player to lead in X and Y.

Least_Platform_487

15 | 10 hours ago

I think SGA is the mvp but if arguing it’s because of the seeding is stupid.

MVP is an individual award while seeding is based on how the entire team performs. The best player can put up the best stats and still not be the first seed.

E_boiii | Thunder

14 | 8 hours ago

In this context tho shais whole team being out for large portions undoubtedly means he was carrying. In all 3 Denver games Shai had to claw them team out of 15+ point Deficits and even beat a nuggets team that had AG, Murray and jokic while missing ihart, Jdub, Chet & caruso.

If that game doesn’t say Shai is the reason his team is the 1 seed idk what does

SungbyChoix

11 | 8 hours ago

And let’s not forget, the biggest talking point of one of Jokic’s MVPs was Nuggets seeding & games won despite missing Murray and MPJ.

That was quite literally his argument that year (& of course being too good, which he really is), and he won the MVP!

If MVP candidates have fairly competitive teams, the seeding has to matter right? These lot are the leaders/or best players on their team, they run the season…

WaltzOk9421

1 | 9 hours ago

Your argument implies that players aren’t actively trying to lead the stat charts lol, it also implies that Jokic is stat chasing instead of trying to win, when he’s statistically the most impactful player when it comes to improving his team in history.

Wemby and Jokic would easily be 1st seeds on that Okc roster as well, and it’s an individual award after all…

Cvwpq

3 | 7 hours ago

spurs are one game back you idiot, it’s not a seeding issue

This_Field_7872 | NBA

19 | 10 hours ago

I did always laugh at the daily posts down the stretch of the season cause i honestly didn’t believe it would be very close in the end. I think he’s the only candidate you can’t justify going any lower than 2 so you’re just up against a math problem at that point

Misdirected_Colors | Thunder

3 | 6 hours ago

Yea it got silly. SGA locked it up when he broke Wilt’s record then double locked it with the dagger 3 against the Nuggets.

Only way he didn’t win was if he shit the bed down the back stretch and he never even got close.

Ghostman-J | SAS

9 | 10 hours ago

Well congrats to SGA. You can’t say he didn’t earn it at least

HsutonTxeas

7 | 7 hours ago

Lead the league in assists and rebounds while avg a triple double = 7 third place votes. Lol

Excellent_Bridge_888

5 | 7 hours ago

Wemby must have lost a bit of steam from losing to Joker and being unable to stop him.

RichAbbreviations966 | Celtics

2 | 11 hours ago

Cade and JB: 😔

k0ala_

34 | 10 hours ago

I mean yeah who tf is voting for either of them as top 3..? They would need their voting privileges removed if they did

livefreeordont | 76ers

0 | 9 hours ago

Wilbon said he was voting for Brown

Geralt0908 | Heat

18 | 11 hours ago

Why the polar bears sad in Arlington, Texas?

merrychrimas | Thunder

5 | 9 hours ago

Miserable ass sub LMFAO

mickeyj623 | Celtics

6 | 6 hours ago

They all was trying to convince themselves and others SGA didn’t lock up MVP awhile ago. It was always SGA vs someone else. I’m indifferent to SGA, but not a hater and you have to respect that he’s been the best player in ball these last two years. These P/R/A these other guys put up is nice to look at, but SGA affects the game more with his efficiency and def. I think Wemby got it next year though.

Raven-19x | Spurs

4 | 9 hours ago

Congrats to SGA.

jersey0525 | Raptors

2 | 5 hours ago

It’s crazy because I would take wemby and joker over sga in a heartbeat on a team

Ghostman-J | SAS

1 | 9 hours ago

Honestly Mr Consistency should just be unanimous off of the crazy year he’s had

Prince_of_DeaTh | Lithuania

2 | 8 hours ago

The real Maple Jordan

RaymondReddington812

3 | 7 hours ago

Fuck FTA.

Rwillsays | Lakers

2 | 7 hours ago

If Jokic leads the league in rebounds and assists while scoring 26 a game and doesn’t win MVP the award is meaningless.

musicalpants999 | Lakers

2 | 6 hours ago

Yup gonna be sga, jokic, wemby, and Luka in that order. That’s also 1st team NBA. Only question is who gets the 5th spot Brown or Cunningham.

Yoshinobu_YamaGOATo

2 | 5 hours ago

Man I wish Luka were healthy. This would be just the fuel he needs to make a crazy playoffs run.

Robynsxx

2 | 4 hours ago

Luka hate is crazy

Nekajed | Lakers

4 | 10 hours ago

Luka will most likely end his career without a single mvp huh? That’s just ridiculous and sad.

CrippledBanana | Canada

2 | 8 hours ago

He wasn’t at the top level this year imo. Shai and Jokic had ridiculous seasons. So far 2024 was his best chance imo.

It would be disappointing if he doesn’t get it though considering how insane of a player he is. Maybe next season he’ll have more of a chance if the lakers can retool their roster

TransportationOk3287 | Celtics

0 | 7 hours ago

Why is it ridiculous? Because he puts up good PRA 🤣🤣

TransportationOk3287 | Celtics

0 | 7 hours ago

Yeah Luka never had a real MVP case let’s be real

Green_Row9105

1 | 7 hours ago

Well deserved by SGA. If he goes back to back in championships and wins fmvp there will be little to no basis to not having him as clearly the best player in the world, you cant dominate in back to back regular seasons and playoffs and not be the no 1 enough excuses for others already.

Far-Ad-8833

1 | 5 hours ago

Most analysts don’t want to see Jokic win another MVP and will look for any reason to give SGA the votes despite his flopping and throwing his body to draw fouls

crackenbecks

1 | 4 hours ago

I am fine with Shai having two, but I would like Jokic to get four. You cannot have it all I guess

MeBadNeedMoneyNow | Thunder

1 | 3 hours ago

It’s ggs

2X MVP and 2X champion incoming

Scuttleduck | Warriors

1 | 3 hours ago

Before the season, I was super high on the Spurs. I thought they’d be good faster than the lines think. The gambling odds for Wemby MVP + Spurs to win the finals had a \(42k payout for a \)100 bet. That ended up being phenomenal value, I was totally right to eye it…. and I would have lost the bet. Glad sports gambling isn’t allowed in my state or I’d be out 100 bucks.

WisdumbGuy | Raptors

1 | an hour ago

The Luka hate is real lol

Jimm120 | Knicks

1 | an hour ago

just cause of the injury and it felt like people completely wrote Luka off at that moment.

The re-instation is more about all-nba and scoring champ

drunkhoboboy117 | Pistons

1 | 43 minutes ago

Seriously? None for Cade?

trentyz | Nuggets

1 | 39 minutes ago

Jokic is the best, SGA will be MVP. Funny how the award works

Thouispure69 | Spurs

-2 | 8 hours ago

Look out for your Laker bros. Their nonsense, amplified by bots and hype merchants, has collided with reality.

Detonation | Pistons

4 | 7 hours ago

And yet Spurs fans are worse to interact with than Lakers fans this year and it’s not even close. Let that sink in.

mickeyj623 | Celtics

2 | 6 hours ago

Not even close, Laker and Luka fans flooded this sub all year.

CorduroyEatsCrayons | Nuggets

0 | 6 hours ago

The NBA media is a joke.

Kassdhal88

0 | 5 hours ago

Voters hate Jokic.

Mean_Grass281

3 | 3 hours ago

My friend, he has 3 MVPs. That’s one less than LeBron and 2 more than Kobe and Shaq. Calm down

greenwhitehell

-1 | 7 hours ago

SGA will deservedly win it, but I’m hoping Jokic is 2nd. Would be 6 years in a row on the T2 for MVP, which puts him in very rarefied air

CartoonOG | Lakers

-1 | 5 hours ago

MVP award the just agenda and hype moments lmao

NBA MVP vote tracker so far: SGA has 15 first-place votes, Jokic has 4, and Wemby has 1. SGA has received zero votes for 3rd place or below. Meanwhile, Jokic received 7 third-place votes, and Victor received 6 second-place and 7 third-place votes. Luka hasn’t received any top-three votes.