Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokic are the two players who are the hot favorites to win the 2024-25 NBA MVP award aka the Michael going into the All-Star break. An intense debate about who is more deserving for the award, broke out between former teammates Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett in a recent episode of Ticket and the Truth. Pierce backed Gilgeous-Alexander and Garnett favored Jokic. Following Pierce’s explanation, Garnett’s candid reaction summed up his thoughts on the debate.
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“So 30 [points], 22 [rebounds] and 14 [assists] ain’t sh*t huh? It’s bogus. You are impacting the game on another level,” the formers Wolves power forward said.
The debate began as the two were discussing Shai’s dominance thus far into the season following his 52-point performance against the Warriors. But Garnett still couldn’t get over Jokic’s ridiculous stat line of 33 points, 22 rebounds and 17 assists against the Kings. He is currently averaging a triple-double and is on pace to become the first big man to accomplish the feat. Garnett believes that many wouldn’t even dare to think about the things Jokic is doing on the basketball court.
However, this doesn’t mean that Garnett is disrespectful towards Shai. He has praised him in the past as a matter of fact. It’s just that Jokic is far superior in his eyes.
Garnett praises Gilgeous-Alexander for his stellar play
The Canadian superstar has been outstanding for the Thunder this season. Following the Thunder’s 6-0 start to the season, Garnett couldn’t contain his praise for OKC’s incredible depth.
“Everybody is live at the top!” said Garnett.
“I don’t know who get, but whoever got it, he live. Isaiah Joe, [Jalen Williams], Shai [Gilgeous-Alexander], It don’t matter. [The Thunder] got 11 [expletives] that can bust your [expletive], Shouts to OKC, the new dogs, straight up.”
The Thunder’s depth is one of their major strengths. However, they can truly strive due to the presence of a superstar guard in Gilgeous-Alexander. If he continues this level of play for the duration of the season, he’ll have a very compelling case for MVP over Jokic.
In fact, Shai is in such good form that just a week before the 52-point game against the Warriors, he scored a career-high 54 points in the game against Utah Jazz, which Thunder won. So the debate involving Shai and Jokic has a lot of merit in the basketball world right now and this could be one of the closest races to an MVP win in years.
