Jokic delivers scary message to rest of the NBA after Nuggets win over Thunder

The Denver Nuggets beat the Oklahoma City Thunder in a battle of the top two teams in the Western Conference and Nikola Jokic gave himself a rare bit of praise following the 140-127 win over the team with the beset record in the NBA.

MVP race heating up

It was a battle of not only the two top teams in the West, but the two top candidates for the MVP this season. Jokic has already won three MVPs, and is flirting with a fourth one this season. He outshined Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in Monday’s second game of a back-to-back against OKC after SGA and the Thunder got the best of the Nuggets in Sunday afternoon’s game.

Jokic went for 35 points, 18 rebounds and 8 assists, leading his team to a win and a split of the series against the Thunder and admitted that he is in the prime of his career at the moment. “I will say that I think I’m playing the best basketball of my life, so if that’s enough, that’s enough,” Jokic said when asked about the MVP race. “If not, the guy [Gilgeous-Alexander] deserves it. He’s really amazing.”

Jokic isn’t known for patting himself on the back or lauding for MVP votes, so to hear him admitting that he is playing the best basketball of his life is both surprising and should be terrifying for the rest of the league.

Tale of the MVP tape

Jokic is averaging 28.9 points, 13 rebounds and 10.5 assists this season, which is the most points and assists he has ever averaged. Just last week he became the first player in NBA history to post a triple double of 30+ points, 20+ rebounds and 20+ assists.

Meanwhile SGA is averaging a league high 32.7 points a game, 5.1 rebounds and 6.2 assists. He is the motor that drives the first placed Thunder, and he will not only be looking for his first MVP but also his first NBA title.

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With a month left in the regular season, the Thunder look like a lock to take the one seed in the playoffs, but Nuggets coach Mike Malone is siding with his guy. “You understand that; that’s a part of it. Obviously, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is a great player, and if he wins his first MVP, he’s deserving of that,” said Malone.

“My thing is this: If you didn’t know that Nikola won three MVPs, and I put Player A and Player B on paper and you had no idea that the guy who was averaging a triple-double, the guy who’s top three in the three major statistical categories, things that no one’s ever done, he wins the MVP 10 times out of 10. And if you don’t think so, I think you guys are all full of s---.”