As the regular season approaches its end, the panel members of the Gil’s Arena discussed the players who could lift the 2024 Michael Jordan trophy.
While Nikola Jokic was the common answer among all the members present in the studio, Gilbert Arenas and Rashad McCants discussed the only major hurdle that prevented the league from rewarding LeBron James with the MVP honor.
According to Rashad McCants, James could’ve been in the MVP conversations had the Los Angeles Lakers been a top 5 team in the West.
Arenas went a step further and claimed that the NBA would’ve presented the trophy to the King if the LA side finished Top 2 in the standings.
“If the Lakers was like #2, #1, they’d be giving it (MVP) to LeBron [James],” Arenas said.
LeBron James is having a great campaign, averaging 25.4 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 8.2 assists per game, per NBA.com.
For someone nearing the age of 40, these numbers do seem unbelievable to say the least.
However, in terms of the MVP race, Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Jayson Tatum have a significantly much more pleasing stat line.
While LBJ potentially has constructed an All-NBA-worthy campaign, Anthony Davis has also had a terrific season too.
Averaging 24.5 points, 12.6 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 2.2 blocks per game, Davis is currently amongst the frontrunners competing for the Defensive Player of the Year title.
However, had Darvin Ham’s boys finished as one of the top-seeded teams in the league, AD could’ve potentially had a better shot at winning the MVP award over James.
Arenas was also criticized for his Nikola Jokic take
Gilbert Arenas is not a traditional analyst. On his podcast, Agent Zero is unapologetic for some of the craziest takes.
One such take that received criticism from the basketball community came in just a few days ago.
Mandatory Credit: Michael Ciaglo-USA TODAY Sports
During an appearance on Nightcap, while conversing with Shannon Sharpe, Arenas was brutal as he ripped apart Nikola Jokic for being “the worst MVP winner in the last 40 years”.
Apart from believing that the Serbian was only awarded the prestigious silverware because of the Denver Nuggets’ record, Gil didn’t think that the Joker did anything “historic” to deserve the same.
“Jokic is probably, statistically, when it comes to overall game, the worst MVP winner.
He’s the worst MVP winner in the last 40 years…
The people who won the MVP, their teams were first and second.
When [Michael] Jordan won it, his team record, they were seventh in the NBA,” Arenas said.
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The voters do consider team records.
As much as Arenas hates it, with the virtue of the Nuggets potentially finishing the regular season as the #1 team in the Western Conference, apart from the fact that the reigning Finals MVP is averaging 26.4 points, 12.4 rebounds, and 9 assists per game, per NBA.com, Jokic is very likely to be named the 2024 MVP.
Once that happens, he will only be the 9th player in league history to win at least 3 Most Valuable Player awards.
