There aren’t too many arguments you could make against Nikola Jokic for winning his 3rd MVP right now. At least, not when it comes to basketball.
The Nuggets center is averaging a triple-double with 11.9 rebounds, 10 assists and 24.7 points per game. He’s shooting 63% from the floor, 40% from 3-point range and 81% from the free-throw line. And those are just his counting stats — we haven’t even talked about the advanced numbers that people hate so much yet.
But after this last week in the NBA, there is a case to be made against Jokic. And it revolves around his defense.
The Nuggets have been awful over the last week. Denver has lost four in a row to teams it has no business losing to — the Spurs, the Raptors, the Bulls and the Nets. All fine teams, but they shouldn’t be dominating the Nuggets the way they all have.
The problem has been simple — it’s the defense. The Nuggets have given up 125.2 points per 100 possessions over the last four games. The defense was already poor, but it’s been worse over this latest stretch.
At the center of it all has been Nikola Jokic. Teams have legitimately been going at him over and over and over again, forcing the big man to constantly defend. He’s been awful.
Folks have been roasting him online for it. Here’s a supercut of how terrible Jokic was against the Raptors on Tuesday.
R/NBA user "Zhugo" has been posting compilations (like the one below) of Nikola Jokic getting abused defensively every game and then posting highlights for Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Each of them getting millions of views on Reddit. He's successfully shifting/creating a narrative. pic.twitter.com/GNZBvPT4am
— Unbiased NBA Fan (@nonbiasednbafan) March 15, 2023
The same happened against the Spurs.
Spurs players shot 19/32 vs Nikola Jokic last night, per @nbastats 😳
(h/t @BangoBurner_ )
— NBACentral (@TheNBACentral) March 11, 2023
Look, supercuts of terrible defense from Jokic doesn’t necessarily represent Jokic’s defensive output constantly. There are metrics out there that say he’s actually a pretty good defender. And this doesn’t mean that he can’t be the MVP — plenty of defensively-challenged greats have won it before.
But, look. This race is tight. Joel Embiid’s MVP odds just continue to rise as the 76ers climb the standings. Giannis Antetkounmpo just lead the Bucks to become the first team to clinch a playoff spot this season and Milwaukee looks like the best team in the league behind his play.
This year’s MVP race — for the second season in a row — will require voters to split hairs. Things like head-to-head matchups, defensive play, and even the player’s individual history will come into play.
Unfortunately for Jokic and Nuggets fans, the center just gave voters a lot to think about.