“I personally voted for Embiid but I don’t mind Jokic winning it” Stephen A. Smith details just why Nikola Jokic deserved to win 2021-22 season MVP despite playoffs-flop
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Nikola Jokic
The Most Valuable Player of the league race this year has been one of the most exciting ones in recent history. He has been a battle between two players, Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid who have both put up serious numbers on winning teams. In the case of Jokic however, the situation was much harder to handle while being the only all-star available to lead the team.
The player is more than deserving of his second straight title becoming one of the league’s unique set of back-to-back MVP winners. The player helped his team through the regular season as the sixth seed in the Western Conference with a record of 48 wins and 34 losses. The playoffs were not easy to get past for the team considering that they had lesser power against the Golden State Warriors.
Nikola Jokic to become the 2021-22 season’s MVP
Nikola Jokic has been very dominant in his own unique way. He has the ability to score over the defenders with his jumper which allows him to get above them. He is also one of the best passers standing at seven feet and has a very strong capability of bullying his opponents within the paint. This year had his best season averaging 27.1 points, 13.8 rebounds, and 7.9 assists per game on 58.3% shooting.
He averaged 31 points, 13.2 rebounds, and 5.8 assists against the Warriors in the first round of the playoffs. The Dubs’ defense was a very hard code to break down led by Draymond Green. However, this did not affect his performance and worthiness of the league’s most prestigious award. The only close competitor he had was Embiid who is currently in the playoffs battling it out for a chance to be in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Stephen A Smith does not mind if Nikola Jokic wins over Joel Embiid
Many voters in the league chose Embiid over Nikola Jokic because of the aggressiveness the Sixers’ center brings to the court. Stephen A Smith spoke on his pick not becoming MVP saying, “Yes, I disagree with it because I voted for Embiid, but I have no problem with Jokic being it.” He believes being down two players is a problem but what the Sixers had to go through with their roster had the 76ers in shambles for a fair portion of the season.
Smith said that both players are almost equally as good as each other and had similar problems but of different intensities. Joined by NBA veteran point guard JJ Reddick, he would express that he felt relieved that the announcement had been made because of how heated and intense the debate about who was more deserving would be. Jokic and the Denver Nuggets are currently looking forward to regrouping with their core and possibly making a deep run next year.
Also read: “Forget it MAAAN!” Marcus Smart sounds off on Giannis Antetokounmpo kicking him in the face
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Rakibul John Rodgers
(1258 Articles Published)