The NBA has released its awards for the 2024-2025 season, but not all of their selections were the correct choice.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder was announced as the league MVP. While he had a great season, there are other players who deserve it more. Strong arguments can be made for Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks and Nikola Jokić of the Denver Nuggets.
Following a historic season, Jocić undoubtedly should have taken home the MVP trophy.
He averaged 29.6 points, 12.7 rebounds, and 10.2 assists with an outstanding 57.6 percent field goal percentage. Only three players in NBA history have averaged a triple-double on the season, and he is the only center to do it.
Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 32.7 points, 5 rebounds, and 6.4 assists, on a 51.9 percent field goal percentage. This is an amazing statline, but it does not compare to Jokić’s.
Only three players have achieved a field goal percentage of over 57 percent on more than 1,300 shot attempts: Shaquille O’Neal, Jokić, and the other MVP candidate for this year, Antetokounmpo.
Antetokounmpo was the most efficient player of them all, with a 60.1 percent field goal percentage. His point average, meanwhile, was only two below Gilgeous-Alexander, with six more rebounds per game.
Gilgeous-Alexander’s points per game are diluted by free throws. He averaged at 8.8 attempts per game, more than the other two players, which makes his average less impressive.
The only reason Gilgeous-Alexander won is that he was on the best-performing team. The NBA often forgets that the MVP is not the “best player on the best team” award, and it should focus solely on a singular player’s performance.
As for the All-NBA first team, there are substitutions that should be made.
The team consists of Antetokounmpo, Jokić, Gilgeous-Alexander, Jayson Tatum, and Donovan Mitchell.
Luka Doncić should be in Mitchell’s place. While Doncić went through controversy with the trade out of Dallas to Los Angeles, he still remains a top scorer in the NBA. He was second in points per game at 30.2, while Mitchell was fourth.
Both players are there to score, and Doncić does it better.
An argument could be made for Lebron James to be included, even though his deterioration as a player is obvious.
Even at 40 years old, he is still fourth in blocks per game, and third in steals. He also averaged 24.4 points per game, which is only about two points down from his MVP 2012-2013 season.
