Bill Simmons has decided which player should be the 2024-25 NBA MVP between Nikola Jokic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
With the regular season concluded and the postseason underway, it’s soon time for the NBA to unveil end-of-season awards soon.
This year, the league MVP race has been a tough competition between OKC Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Denver Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic.
Both superstars have terrific cases to take home the honor, but SGA has still been viewed as the favorite. With that said, sports analyst Bill Simmons recently revealed which player did he vote for.
NBA legend Michael Jordan is one of the most accomplished basketball players of all time. He has won a plethora of accolades, including five NBA MVPs.
Matching Jordan’s numbers is considered a phenomenal feat and Simmons believes Jokic has done that.
“I voted for Jokic. I thought it was the best offensive season I’ve seen since [Michael] Jordan. For what somebody did game after game, quarter after quarter, all the s___ that he did for that team.
“First of all, to be top three in points, rebounds, and assists is bonkers. I just can’t believe [it]. But not trying to pad stats, not doing the s___ [Russell] Westbrook did in 2017,” Simmons said.
Simmons then compared Jokic’s season to what LA Lakers superstar Luka Doncic did last season.
“His usage rate is not that high. So, if you’re gonna compare it to Luka [Doncic] last year, like Luka had the ball all the time last year.
“Jokic kind of has the ball in necessity, but he wants the ball to keep moving, almost like a hockey player,” he added.
Jokic averaged 29.6 points, 12.7 rebounds, and 10.2 assists per game this season, all while leading the Nuggets to the fourth seed in the Western Conference.
Jokic has been so good this season, fans have never witnessed anything like this. Despite all this, and Jokic having the best offensive season since MJ, per Simmons.
But here’s the thing about accolades – voter fatigue plays a huge role in end-of-season awards. Fans saw it happen with LeBron James when he won four NBA MVPs in a span of five years and then never did.
On a similar note, Jokic has won three out of the last four NBA MVPs and the voters’ fatigue is playing its role. Moreover, it’s not like Shai had a terrible season by any means.
He averaged 32.7 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 6.4 assists per game and led the Thunder to the No. 1 seed in the crowded West.
In fact, the Thunder were so good that they finished 16 wins clear of the second seed in the conference.
