WATCH: Shaq went viral for telling Nikola Jokic that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander should have won the 2023-24 NBA MVP

Shaquille O’Neal went viral on social media after NBA fans believed he “stole the spotlight” from Denver Nuggets Nikola Jokic following Wednesday’s MVP announcement. 

Jokic was officially named the NBA’s Most Valuable Player for the 2023-24 season, marking his third MVP award in the last four years. Jokic took home 79 first place votes compared to 15 first-place votes for the runner-up, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The 2023-24 Kia NBA Most Valuable Player is… Nikola Jokic!#NBAAwards | #KiaMVP | @Kia pic.twitter.com/vvgSrHCHU9

— NBA (@NBA) May 8, 2024

It’s no secret that Nikola Jokic is one of the best players in the NBA but I do think it’s fair to question him winning the NBA MVP for the 2023-24 season. 

Nikola Jokic 2023-24 Regular Season: 

• 26.4 PPG
• 12.4 RPG
• 9.0 APG
• 1.4 SPG
• 0.9 BPG
• 58.3 FG%
• 35.9 3P%
• 81.7 FT%
• 61.2 eFG%
• 65.0 TS%

Jokic led the Nuggets to a 57-25 record and the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference. That’s perfectly fine and quite the achievement for sure but looking at what SGA did in Oklahoma City and even Luka Doncic, there’s reason to question The Joker winning MVP (again) over them. 

Shaq decided to let Nikola Jokic know that he would have rather seen Shai Gilgeous-Alexander take home the award during an interview on TNT during “NBA Tip-Off”. 

Shaquille O’Neal tells Nikola Jokic that SGA should have won NBA MVP

Shaq tells Nikola Jokic straight up that he thinks SGA deserved MVP over him 😯 pic.twitter.com/BsSbkQVspm

— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) May 8, 2024

Shaq: “I want you to hear it from me first. I thought SGA should have won MVP. That’s no disrespect to you.”

Honestly, I have no issue with Shaq telling Jokic that he thought Shai Gilgeous-Alexander should have won MVP. It was obviously from a place of respect by the tone of the delivery and Jokic handled the remarks with class. 

On top of that, it’s a pretty reasonable statement given the fact that the Oklahoma City Thunder, led by SGA finished the regular season as the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference.

Pair that with the fact that SGA led the Thunder with 30.1 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 6.2 assists per game and there’s a valid case to be made that he was the NBA MVP.

Just last season, the Oklahoma City Thunder finished No. 10 in West. They were two games below .500 at 40-42. The year before? They were No. 14 in the West at 24-58. 

In my humble opinion, I would have given it to Luka Doncic, who put up incredible numbers while leading the Dallas Mavericks to the fifth seed in the West at 50-32. Luka led the Mavs with 33.9 points, 9.8 assists and 9.2 rebounds over 70 games this season – nearly an averaging a triple-double! 

The True King of the NBA: Joel Embiid

If we’re being honest, Joel Embiid was clearly the NBA MVP but unfortunately missed too much time with meniscus surgery. Embiid averaged 34.7 points, 11 rebonds, and 5.6 assists per game but only appeared in 39 games this season. It’s hard to think that his numbers would have been any worse during the regular season if he remained healthy, right? 

The 76ers posted a 16-27 record without Embiid this season. They were 31-8 when he was on the basketball court. In the playoffs, which yes I know don’t count towards voting, Embiid played with a bum knee and a mild case of Bell’s Palsy, He still managed to average 33 points, 10.8 rebounds, and 5.7 assists over 6 games. 

Anyways, I think it was a perfectly reasonable exchange between Shaq and Jokic. Everyone on social media always wants to bitch about something – even more so when you get the Jokic Stans involved but this wasn’t a conversation that warranted the criticism. 

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