Stephen A. Smith says the NBA MVP race is over in his eyes
Mar 11, 2025, 12:29 PM
Another year, another mess of the national media talking about Nikola Jokic and the NBA MVP race.
After a convincing win over the Oklahoma City Thunder and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Monday night, Jokic showed the world that he’s still the best player in the NBA with 35 points, 18 rebounds and eight assists.
While the odds have been constantly shifting on the MVP odds with Jokic being in second for a while now, the race isn’t over until the regular season is over.
However, Stephen A. Smith, who is one of the voters for the award, said on ESPN’s First Take Tuesday that the vote is over for him.
Yeah @stephenasmith isn't interested in an amazing MVP race. He isn't interested in letting these gentlemen play and having the rightful winner crowned.
He has his pick. And he wants to make sure you feel the same way. Us, and the other MVP voters.
He knows it's a narrative… https://t.co/WSil9ODMmf pic.twitter.com/xvZarNBUJM
— n i k o l a e s t h e t i c (@nikolaesthetic) March 11, 2025
Since the 2020-21 season, the first time Jokic won the MVP award, Smith has only voted Jokic as first-place on his ballot once (2021). Since then, he hasn’t put him first on his ballot, and even put him in third place on the 2023 ballot.
It’s instances like this that make the debate such a toxic one that Nuggets fans are sick of dealing with every year. People constantly try to downplay the candidate they’re less fond of in order to prop up their guy.
Nuggets head coach Michael Malone said postgame Monday that both Gilgeous-Alexander and Jokic are deserving, and proceeded to prop Jokic up without tearing down the phenomenal work the Thunder superstar has accomplished this year.
All this does is hurt the credibility of the NBA if the people covering it are going to make statements like this. There’s still a month left in the NBA season, and nothing is close to being decided, except for OKC locking down the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference.
Greg Anthony of Turner Network Television is the only media member who has had a vote in the previous four seasons and not voted for the Nuggets big man once. A handful of other media members have only voted for him once like Smith has, but they have not been as outspoken about their mindsets as Smith.
The Nuggets are back in action Wednesday night against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Ball Arena. With the game being nationally televised, it’s another chance for Jokic to bolster his case for a fourth MVP.
