By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
Putting up the 8th triple-double in his NBA Playoffs career with 30 points, 14 rebounds, and 13 assists to beat the Los Angeles Lakers, Nikola Jokic was named the Western Conference Finals MVP. Ahead of his first-ever appearance in the NBA Finals, the 28-year-old superstar talked about the MVP of the Regular Season, Joel Embiid.
“I don’t think about MVPs anymore, and I think people are just mean at saying Joel Embiid shouldn’t win it. I think he should have won it. He was playing extremely tough basketball through the whole season, and he was really amazing in every game he played”, the Serbian superstar said.
Following the win in Game 4 to qualify for the first-ever NBA Finals in Denver Nuggets‘ history, Nikola Jokic also recalled the times in which there weren’t sold-out crowds in the Pepsi Center. “I remember the days when you could hear the ball bounce on the floor and there were no fans. Now we have a sellout every night”, the Western Conference Finals MVP added.
Nikola Jokic was followed by the head coach Mike Malone, who asked for respect for his player. “The MVPs are real. All the narratives are silly. He’s averaging a triple-double. Do you see any stat padding out there? Give him his damn respect”, the 51-year-old head coach said.
“That first Summer League in Vegas, 300 pounds, out of shape, hey, he’s a nice player. No one, and if anybody tells you differently they’re full of shit, no one could have seen that he’d be a two-time MVP passing Wilt Chamberlain every other night”, he also added about the Serbian power forward when he first came to the NBA. Nikola Jokic has been averaging 29.9 points, 13.3 rebounds, and 10.3 assists per game, shooting 53.8% from two and 47.4% from three in the 2022-23 NBA Playoffs.