By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Nikola Jokic won his third MVP award in four years, taking the prize in front of Luka Doncic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, but former NBA player Gilbert Arenas isn’t convinced.
Moreover, he believes SGA deserved the award and didn’t hold back sharing his thoughts on the MVP race, arguing that Jokic relies too much on Denver Nuggets teammate Jamal Murray.
“Are we going to ignore the fact that he is not the go-to guy when it counts? [Murray] is the guy who Jokić relies on to hit those buckets,” Arenas said on an episode of the Nightcap show.
Arenas, who also recently called European players a liability on defense, asserts that Jokic didn’t deserve his third MVP nod.
“[Murray] becomes the number-one option when the game is on the line, so you’re giving the MVP to a guy who, when it counts, has to give it to another guy,” Arenas concluded.
Though Murray hit several game-winners and clutch shots over his career, the same could be said for Nikola Jokic, who also led the Colorado team in relevant statistical categories year after year.
The Serbian center is also the only player in NBA history to be top-10 in all four statistical categories in a single season on his way to the third MVP award.
And when it comes to defense, Jokic was first in total steals by a center and fifth in total deflections in the NBA in the 2023/24 regular season.