NBA MVP Mondays: Nikola Jokic overtakes Jayson Tatum, Anthony Davis
11/18/2024 05:26 PM
The start of the 2024-25 season saw Boston Celtics All-Star Jayson Tatum take the No. 1 spot in the NBA MVP rankings. Then it was Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander who seized the top spot, with his team being undefeated. Last week, the spotlight shifted back to Tatum, as his heroics have been the driving force of Boston’s two-way play. Here we are just about one month through the new season, and just like in previous years, Denver Nuggets three-time MVP Nikola Jokic is reminding everyone why he is the favorite yet again.
At this point, it is hard to come up with a compelling argument against Jokic. Although Denver is struggling at 7-5, they were just 7-3 before Jokic missed the last two games due to personal reasons. As far as the record goes, the Nuggets began the year 2-3 before Jokic averaged 29.0 points, 15.8 rebounds, and 13.4 assists while shooting 56.4 percent from the floor and 56.3 percent from three-point range during a five-game win streak.
The Nuggets big man is the best basketball player in the world right now, and he reminds us of this every single time he takes the court. It is as clear as day that Jokic is the most valuable player in the league simply because his team is a championship contender when he plays, regardless of the talent around him. When he doesn’t play, the Nuggets look like a borderline play-in team in a very deep and crowded Western Conference.
As Nuggets head coach Michael Malone says countless times, we simply don’t appreciate what this guy is doing enough.
“I assume after tonight's performance he'll probably be 5th in the MVP voting,” Malone said recently after Jokic’s 37-point, 18-rebound, and 15-assist night against the Dallas Mavericks.
Whether or not Jokic wins the 2024-25 NBA MVP award comes down to voter fatigue. Will MVP voters once again admit that Jokic is the best player in the league, or will his success become redundant? After all, media members always tend to gravitate to the new, shiny name or headline.
Well, Jokic is the best player in the NBA, and he has been the best player in the league since the start of the season. That is why he sits above Tatum, Gilgeous-Alexander, and others in the latest MVP rankings.
Previous 2023-24 NBA MVP Rankings: Week 3 | Week 2 | Week 1
1. Nikola Jokic – Denver Nuggets
Previous ranking: #2
2024-25 season stats: 10 games, 29.7 points, 13.7 rebounds, 11.7 assists, 1.7 steals, 56.3 FG%, 56.4 3P%
While he has missed Denver’s last two games due to personal reasons, the Nuggets are optimistic that Jokic will be back in no time. This is great news, especially since he is single-handedly carrying them with Aaron Gordon out and the team struggling to find their offensive identity. When he is on the floor, the Nuggets simply win, as they are 7-3 with the three-time NBA MVP on the court this year.
The more you look at Jokic’s numbers, the more it begins to look like a Wilt Chamberlain stat line. If you are being compared to Wilt, you are doing something right, as his numbers are practically video game-like. That is where we are at with Jokic, as everything he does tends to leave us scratching our heads in terms of his greatness.
There are no more words to describe what Jokic does on the court anymore, as even his triple-doubles are impressive. It is hard enough to have a triple-double, yet Jokic is doing it with ease when he has 23-point, 20-rebounds, and 16-assist nights like he recently did against the Oklahoma City Thunder. We simply do not appreciate Jokic’s dominance enough, which is why there isn’t any talk about him being the face of the NBA.
2. Jayson Tatum – Boston Celtics
Previous ranking: #1
2024-25 season stats: 14 games, 29.7 points, 7.9 rebounds, 5.9 assists, 1.4 steals, 46.1 FG%, 38.1 3P%
Aside from currently ranking third in scoring, trailing Giannis Antetokounmpo (32.3) and Anthony Davis (31.1), Tatum has made tremendous strides toward becoming an all-around playmaker and two-way superstar for the Boston Celtics. Tatum has always been among the very best in the league, but this year, in particular, he is playing at a level very few players have ever been able to reach.
Last season, we saw glimpses of Tatum turning things on defensively and locking in when it came to aiding the Celtics as a rebounder and passer. This season, Tatum has become a much more complete facilitator and playmaker with the ball in his hands while also still achieving excellence as a scorer.
He may not have the triple-doubles that Jokic has, but we can’t overlook Tatum averaging 26.7 points, 9.0 assists, and 8.7 rebounds last week. The Celtics star will have a great chance to make a clear MVP statement against the undefeated Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Cup on Tuesday.
3. Anthony Davis – Los Angeles Lakers
Previous ranking: #3
2024-25 season stats: 12 games, 31.1 points, 11.2 rebounds, 2.0 blocks, 1.3 steals, 56.1 FG%, 42.9 3P%
This has been the best start Anthony Davis has had in his now 13-year career. The Los Angeles Lakers are currently 9-4, and although he missed one game due to an ankle injury, Davis has been the guy on a team where LeBron James is dropping triple-doubles like it is nothing nearing the age of 40.
Davis has led the Lakers in scoring in eight of their 13 games thus far, and he is tied for the league lead in 30-point games this season with LaMelo Ball and Tatum at eight total games. He also ranks second behind only Giannis Antetokounmpo with a 56.1 field goal percentage, min. 230 shot attempts.
Perhaps the most impressive thing about Davis this season is that he is shooting 42.9 percent from long range. Over his last five games, he is shooting 62.5 percent from deep, with exactly two made triples in each game. This is the longest streak of Davis’ career. When it comes to two-way play at the center position, nobody is better than the Lakers’ big man right now.
4. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander – Oklahoma City Thunder
Previous ranking: #4
2024-25 season stats: 14 games, 28.5 points, 6.3 assists, 5.3 rebounds, 1.6 steals, 1.2 blocks, 50.5 FG%, 31.6 3P%
The Thunder have been without Isaiah Hartenstein, and they are now without Chet Holmgren indefinitely after the budding star suffered a hip injury. Even with no true big man, Oklahoma City has been able to stay afloat for the time being and remain a real contenders at the top of the West because of what Shai Gilgeous-Alexander brings to the table.
We have become so accustomed to Gilgeous-Alexander being one of the league’s best scorers that his other contributions go overlooked. Like Tatum, SGA has evolved into more than just a pure scorer, as he makes those around him better because of his playmaking and facilitating duties. Still, scoring is the name of the game, and Gilgeous-Alexander does this as well as anyone else.
Last week, the Thunder star registered a career-high 45 points on 13-of-21 shooting, including four made threes. To make it even sweeter, Gilgeous-Alexander did so against the Los Angeles Clippers, his former team. It is not hard to say that Gilgeous-Alexander is the best scoring guard in the league right now, and he may just be the best two-way guard, given his ability to disrupt passing lanes to create fastbreak scoring chances.
5. Donovan Mitchell – Cleveland Cavaliers
Previous ranking: #7
2024-25 season stats: 14 games, 24.6 points, 4.4 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 1.5 steals, 46.9 FG%, 42.1 3P%
We can’t overlook the fact that the Cavs are 15-0 right now. This is just the fourth time in league history that a team has started the season 15-0 or better, and the three prior teams to achieve such a feat went on to make the NBA Finals. Could Cleveland be on their way back to the NBA Finals for the first time without LeBron James being on the team?
Although they don’t have James, the Cavs do have Donovan Mitchell as their leader. Mitchell has been the perfect leader for the Cavs because he leads by example. Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen, and everyone else on this roster have elevated their games to match Mitchell’s intensity, which has created an offensive explosion in Cleveland.
Mitchell is the best player on the best team in the NBA right now, which is why we can’t count him out of the MVP rankings.
Just missing the cut
6. Anthony Edwards – Minnesota Timberwolves (Ranked No. 5 last week)
7. LeBron James – Los Angeles Lakers (Unranked last week)
8. Kevin Durant – Phoenix Suns (Ranked No. 8 last week)
9. Luka Doncic – Dallas Mavericks (Ranked No. 6 last week)
10. Stephen Curry – Golden State Warriors (Unranked last week)
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