Nikola Jokić Takes Home The MVP Award Amidst Stiff Competition

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Before the New York Knicks and Indiana Pacers clashed in Game 2 of their second round matchup, Nikola Jokić was named the 2024 NBA most valuable player. This was the Joker’s third time taking home the award, joining a nine-player list of players to take home MVP honors at least three times. Others on the list include Michael Jordan, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson and other all-time greats. This award comes on the heels of a season where Jokić was dominant, averaging 26.4 points, 9 assists and 12.3 rebounds per contest. That being said, a strong case can be made that a few others could have taken home the hardware for the first time in their careers. We took a look at each case and chose the three that have the strongest support.

Oklahoma City Thunder SG Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

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Gilgeous-Alexander finished second in the voting for MVP and is a lock to appear on the All-NBA first team for the second consecutive year. He lead the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder in both scoring and steals this season, averaging 30.1 and 2 respectively. OKC sports the second-youngest team in the NBA, but behind SGA, they play on a much higher level than any had expected them to. He has and projects to continue his dominance around the Thunder’s young core for years to come. Many are saying that Shai was snubbed from the award this year though, thanks to the media being more enamored with the better-known stars like Jokić and Luka Dončić.

Dallas Mavericks SG Luka Dončić

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Luka Dončić has been in the MVP conversation since he entered his second full season in the NBA and has developed into one of the game’s premiere scorers. He led the league in scoring this season, averaging 33.9 points per contest, leading the Dallas Mavericks to the 5th seed in the Western Conference. At this point, Luka has two major issues standing in his way; playoff success and his attitude. Throughout his career and especially this postseason, Luka has developed a bad habit of complaining to officials constantly and often times sacrifices his defensive effort to do so. Additionally, his rampant success in the regular season has yet to truly translate into the postseason outside of one run to the Western Conference Finals in 2022. He should be near the top of MVP discussions for years to come, but it will be far more interesting to see if he can get out of his own way.

Boston Celtics SF Jayson Tatum

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Throughout this season, the Boston Celtics have been the most dominant team in the league by a significant margin, winning the Eastern Conference by more than 10 games. Tatum has been the leader of their charge to the top seed in the East, averaging 26.9 points, 4.9 assists and 8.9 rebounds per game this year. Tatum’s argument loses strength when considering the fact that he is on one of the deepest teams in recent NBA history, but in clutch moments, Tatum has stepped forward and secured wins that were in question for the Celtics. A MVP award might be in Tatum’s future, but he has said that he has his eyes set on securing a much more elusive piece of hardware in his opinion; the Larry O’Brien championship trophy.