Three-time All-Star Gilbert Arenas recently flamed up on Nikola Jokic getting snubbed for the 2023 NBA MVP. However, Jokic getting snubbed of his third consecutive MVP title doesn’t diminish his greatness. Speaking on Gil’s Arena podcast, Agent Zero used the analogy of Michael Jordan winning MVP titles to relate the situation with that of Jokic.
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The Joker was snubbed in favor of the Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid. Nikola Jokic, on the other hand, won the NBA championship last season and was also selected as the Finals MVP for the series.
Perhaps, the Joker’s phenomenal prowess through the regular and post-season made many people believe in his potential to be a worthy MVP candidate for the previous season.
Gilbert Arenas refers to Michael Jordan’s example to justify Nikola Jokic’s 2023 MVP snub
Gilbert Arenas had a valid explanation relating to Michael Jordan for Nikola Jokic’s MVP snub. Though Arenas was hoping for the Joker to win, he had realized an analogy for the Joker that fit well with Michael Jordan’s.
Jordan is a five-time MVP himself. However, he never won three consecutive MVP awards during his illustrious career. Arenas noticed how the Serbian was snubbed right before his third consecutive MVP title, which would have taken him one up over Michael Jordan. To preserve history, this snub was important for the league to undertake.
“It’s to the point where you’re trying to protect history, right? Like Joker wasn’t voted this year because they’re trying, like [Michael] Jordan didn’t have three in a row. So, you can’t do that and that’s not how. You can’t try to protect history so stop it!”
Arenas called out the older players for trying to protect histories and new records to be made. Indeed, many in the basketball fraternity are quite conservative regarding new records. Be it the LeBron vs. Jordan GOAT debate or anything to do with a young player breaking an awards record for a particular feat. However, it hardly affects the Joker, as he was recently seen in the practice camp with full force.
Nikola Jokic does not care about winning NBA MVP anymore
Despite winning two MVP awards in a row, Nikola Jokic does not seem to care about winning the NBA MVP anymore. The 2023 NBA champion has clarified that Joel Embiid was the perfect pick for the MVP last season. Hence, there was no bad blood between the Joker and Embiid while contesting for this title.
Jokic believes that Embiid played extremely tough basketball throughout the year. On the other hand, the Serbian hit back at his supporters, who criticized the Cameroonian for winning the MVP title. Eventually, Jokic did win the Finals MVP last season, adorning his career with his first NBA chip with the Nuggets.
