Former Washington Wizards Star Gilbert Arenas recently found himself under fire from fans and analysts alike, for his controversial take on reigning MVP, Nikola Jokic. While appearing on the show, ‘Night Cap‘ with NFL legend Shannon Sharpe, Arenas called Jokic “The worst MVP in 40 years”. This statement from Arenas didn’t go down so well with fans as they clapped back at him for his seemingly ridiculous take.
Advertisement
The backlash from the media and fans didn’t deter Arenas. It only seemed to have fueled Arenas, with the Wizards legend clapping back at fans during a recent episode of his show, ‘Gil’s Arena‘. Addressing the detractors, Arenas said,
“He is the only multiple-winner who didn’t even have 50 f**king wins when he won his MVP…Can’t beat the fact. This is the last place. Only player with multiple, who didn’t have 50 fu*king wins when he won MVP. “
Arenas also highlighted how players such as Kobe Bryant had been denied the MVP award earlier due to their lack of regular season wins, even when their season averages justified them taking home the award. For Arenas, the MVP award seems to have a direct correlation with regular season wins, even if it has nothing to do with team achievements.
Analysts come to Nikola Jokic’s rescue
Nikola Jokic wasn’t without help after Arenas’s recent comments about him. None other than Andy Bailey of Bleacher Report supported him. The seasoned journalist began his rant against Arenas by pointing out how Jokic might be on his way to winning his third MVP and deserved four in total. With the Serbian averaging a staggering 26.5 points, 12.4 rebounds, and 9.0 assists in 74 games this season, it’s understandable why Bailey believes that Arenas is incorrect in his statement about the Joker.
Bailey also used Arenas’ ‘stat’ based logic against him, as the NBA reporter argued along Jokic’s ‘ winning statistics’, proving a point to the retired NBA star. Further adding to his argument, he even addressed Arenas’s concerns directly,
“Just want to score? In those 288 games, Jokić also has a 66.2 true shooting percentage. Charles Barkley and Stephen Curry are the only other players in NBA history to average 26+ points with a 65+ TS% over a 250+ game span. Impact? Over these four seasons, Denver is +9.5 points per 100 possessions with Jokić on the floor and -6.5 when he’s off. That’s a +16.0 swing. The biggest four-year swing from LeBron James’ career is +14.5. “
It’s clear from Bailey’s argument that Arenas might have selectively picked certain numbers to make his point about Jokic ‘wrongly’ winning MVP. Though Jokic hasn’t been the most successful player during the regular season, it’s still unclear why a team’s performance has to factor into a player winning an individual award like the MVP. With rising speculation around the MVP award, it’s now becoming clear that there needs to be a greater emphasis on “transparency surrounding the selection criteria for the award’.
