In the last period Gilbert Arenas is not holding back as far as hot takes are concerned, especially if they involve European players. A few weeks ago Agent Zero had stated that in his opinion it was the Europeans who “ruined” the NBA, who would adapt to their game, which was different from the American game. Now Arenas has instead lashed out at Nikola Jokic in the podcast he co-hosts with Shannon Sharpe, the Nightcap Show.
Sharpe read anonymous statements by an NBA executive that. Jokic will not win the MVP this year because it would be his third in four years, and in retrospect, this statistic “will not age well”. So this would be a strategic or political choice on the part of the NBA. After that, he and Arenas went on to list a number of legends who should have won more than the MVPs they actually put in their trophies: according to them, Michael Jordan for example should have won 7-8 (instead of the 5 he won).
And after this excursus Arenas ruled: “Jokic is probably the worst MVP ever, statistically. In 2021, Denver finished fifth. What is the historical part of that finish? There was nothing historic about it. They said, ‘Oh, a long guy almost held a triple-double average! Let’s give it to him! When he won the second one, his team was tied for tenth in the standings.”.
The team statistics considered by Arenas are the overall ones. In 2021 the Nuggets finished third in the West but fifth when counting all teams in the league. The same is true for 2022. This season Nikola Jokic is maintaining. 26.4 points, 12.3 rebounds and 9.0 assists averaging shooting 58% from the field: definitely MVP statistics. His candidacy will become even stronger if the Denver Nuggets manage to finish first in the West: right now they have the best record, 53-23, on par with Minnesota, which, however, is ahead of them because of direct clashes.
“Nikola [Jokic] is probably statistically the worst MVP winner. In 2021, Jokic’s team was fifth. What was the historic part in that?… Oh, big man almost had a triple-double. Let’s give it to him.”
– Gilbert Arenas 😳
(via @NightcapShow_)pic.twitter.com/KBcFlugGw7
– ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) April 4, 2024
Milan, Italy. A graduate in Labor Management and Communication for Organizations from Catholic University, I founded BasketUniverso in 2011. Yes, I root for Orlando Magic and do my best not to hide it.
