Former NBA player turned media personality Gilbert Arenas has shared another outrageous take, this time he has taken aim at Nuggets big man Nikola Jokic.
The Serbian superstar has won two MVP titles in his NBA career and is well on track to take out his third this season.
However, Arenas believes that if you go by the history of MVP awards and how they were given out, Jokic isn’t a deserving recipient.
“Jokic is probably, statistically, when it comes to overall game, the worst MVP winner. He’s the worst MVP winner in the last 40 years,” Arenas said on Nightcap. “When you’re talking about MVP, their teams were first and second place. The people who won the MVP, their teams were first and second. When [Michael] Jordan won it, his team record, they were seventh in the NBA. That year, he averaged 35 [points], 6 [assists], 5 [rebounds], 3 steals, All-Star MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, scoring title, steals leader – that was the MVP. Historic year, makes sense. That makes sense.
“When [Russell] Westbrook won it, his team had the 10th-best record. Triple-double. He did something amazing. His team was 10th, but he did something that wasn’t done since Oscar Robertson. In 2021, Jokic’s team was 5th. He averaged 26 [points], 8 [assists], and 10 [rebounds]. What was the historic part of that? There was no history. ‘Oh, a big man almost had a triple-double, let’s give it to him.’ That’s what the narrative was. A big man almost, not did, almost won the triple-double, and they gave it to him when his team record was like that.”
Arenas went on to say why Jokic shouldn’t have been awarded his first two MVP accolades.
“Look, his first two ones, he probably shouldn’t have had those. If you go by history, last year – that should’ve been his, it shouldn’t have been Embiid’s. Jayson Tatum’s been one, he’s been the best player, he’s averaged 30, he’s had the number that the rest of history [had] – that was his MVP. Now, Jokic is sitting in 1st with great stats. You know what I mean? And now you’re sitting like, ‘We gone cheating for the last couple of years, so we gotta give it to him this year.’ When you look at the history of this game, right, how Jokic won his MVP has never been [done]. It’s like we’re dumbing down, we’re dumbing down the game for a narrative,” Arenas said.
“When Giannis [Antetokounmpo] was winning, Giannis was winning. He was dominating everything. His team was one, he dominated from the beginning of the season until the end of the season, both years he won. You don’t need to handicap greatness.”
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