Is the NBA MVP race already a wrap? Some people believe it is after Nikola Jokic went down with a hyperextended knee that will keep him out for at least a month. This will make it difficult for the Serbian star to meet the 65 games played threshold required to be eligible for postseason awards. Even if he does clear that hurdle, he’d still be facing an uphill battle if Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who beat him for the award last year, is able to play 10-15 more games than him.
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But even with Jokic is out of the running, the MVP race is not run yet. There’s still more than half a season to go, and the Thunder’s luster has faded a bit, which could have the ripple effect of denting SGA’s repeat chances. Most observers thought he had the award in the bag if OKC challenged the all-time regular season wins record, but a 6-6 record in their last 12 that includes three losses to the Spurs and a blowout home defeat to the Hornets has changed that outlook.
On the most recent episode of the Road Trippin’ podcast, the crew discussed who could challenge SGA for MVP. Allie Clifton listed the updated odds, saying Shai was at No. 1, followed by Luka Doncic, Cade Cunningham, Jaylen Brown and Jalen Brunson.
Kendrick Perkins knew who had his vote. “Jaylen Brown number one right now, I’ll tell you that much,” he said. When Richard Jefferson asked why Brown was ahead of Cade, Perk said, “Because he’s doing more with less.” He then hilariously left Jefferson speechless by rattling off Derick White, Payton Pritchard and Sam Hauser as the best parts of Brown’s supporting cast.
Brown has been awesome, especially in the past month, though he lost out on the Eastern Conference Player of the Month award to Brunson. He used that snub to almost single-handedly destroy the red-hot Clippers on Saturday, dropping 50 points while shutting down Kawhi Leonard.
Perkins had stats to back up his case. “Jaylen Brown’s getting it done with less,” he said. “Averaging 30, shooting 50% from the field, 37% from 3, and I’m tell you something. You know how you make a f***** statement? On top of that, he’s the best two-way player in the game right now.”
Perk also referenced the stat that Brown ranks second in the NBA behind SGA’s teammate Cason Wallace in opponent field goal percentage allowed, ahead even of Victor Wembanyama. If someone can do that while still averaging 30 points on the other end and leading his team to second place in the conference (without Jayson Tatum!), then Perk surmised, quite fairly, that he deserves to be the MVP.
At the beginning of the season, Perk predicted that Luka would be the MVP, but he’s changed his thinking after seeing these first 30-something games play out. Luka is leading the league in scoring with 33.5 points per game, but his defensive deficiencies have allowed Brown to more than make up the difference.
“The thing with Luka is, hey man, you gotta slide them puppies defensively now,” Perkins said.
“The one thing I will say, you ain’t picking on SGA like that, you ain’t picking on Jaylen Brown like that. Cade Cunningham, he’s sliding those puppies and defending at a high level, and I am even going to give credit to Jokic. Jokic gonna strip the s*** out your damn a**,” the former NBA champion argued.
There’s a lot of season left, but there’s no denying that Brown has picked a good time to elevate his game to a career-high level. Not only has it more than kept the Celtics afloat as they await Tatum’s return, it’s given him a legitimate chance to add a regular season MVP to the Finals MVP he won in 2024.
