Dwight Howard Coyly Declares Luka Doncic MVP Worthy With Cryptic Tweet After Nikola Jokic and Co.’s Exit

Two MVP finalists, two second-round series, while one grabbed the conference finals seat, another has perished. And now, comparisons are in order. While Nikola Jokic couldn’t prevent a second-round exit for his Denver Nuggets, Luka Doncic managed to carry his Dallas Mavericks to the WC Finals. Consequently, the NBA world is pondering upon Jokic’s worthiness of his third MVP title over Doncic, who is yet to grab one.

Dwight Howard also joined the bunch, who believed that Doncic was the rightful recipient of the honor. On X (formerly Twitter), he dropped a hint about his choice without naming the Slovenian,

“It’s crazy the person who should have probably got MVP is going to the  Western Conference Finals”.

https://twitter.com/DwightHoward/status/1792533426555228174

Naturally, his statement met with a resounding response from fans. A user agreed with the sentiment and wrote, “Luka ”.

Another fan stated that this is a regular occurrence in the NBA as MVPs often fail to carry their team deep into the playoffs while the MVP finalists often enable their teams to make a much more impressive run, “Not crazy it happens all the time.”

Meanwhile, a fan pointed out that Nuggets’ WCSF exit can’t be blamed on Jokic as his supporting cast didn’t turn up like the 2023 playoffs. The X commenter wrote, “Jokic fought as hard as he can, he’s the MVP his supporting cast except Jamal did not show up.”

Apart from that, a commenter found Howard’s stance hypocritical. D-12 had expressed that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander should have been the MVP. The fan called out Howard for resenting modern Centers akin to Shaq, with whom he has shared an uncomfortable relationship.

Thus, the Regular Season MVP award continues to be equated with the postseason window which sways opinions in a jiffy. Howard, who now seems to be backing Doncic, had indeed claimed that SGA deserved the MVP honor over everybody else.

Has Dwight Howard changed his tune?

Earlier, D-12 made a strong case for Gilgeous-Alexander as the 2024 NBA MVP. He had touched upon his ability to bring the OKC Thunder franchise out of obscurity in the post-Russell Westbrook era. Apart from that, the former Laker is a fan of SGA’s leadership and argued that his ability to be a glue guy also gives him a huge impetus for the MVP honor,

“He’s put OKC on the map. All those guys believe in themselves. They fight for each other and they are happy for each other. You see after the game, there’s six or seven guys standing around a person that they are talking to… So, shout out to Shai, he is my MVP.”

Thus, the 4x DPOY made a persuasive MVP case for the OKC Thunder guard. However, after his ouster at the hands of the Doncic-led Mavs, he seems to have changed his opinion. At any rate, this proves the fluctuating nature of the MVP debate which sways like a pendulum in the playoffs.