Nikola Jokic doesn’t campaign for awards. He doesn’t follow the daily arguments on social media and the major networks. He feigns surprise that he is even in consideration, let alone selected for awards, especially the historically coveted NBA MVP Award. Future first-ballot Hall-of-Famer LeBron James has four MVP awards. Michael Jordan, arguably the greatest basketball player of all time, has five MVP trophies. Yet now we have Nikola Jokic, winner of three of the last four MVP awards, acting nonchalant about the announcement.
Just like Jokic, we followed suit and stopped caring about MVP almost as soon as it was announced. Moreover, since that MVP announcement, the NBA has been shrouded in a cloud of nonchalance. The NBA Finals just ended, and the basketball media’s attention was most on the LA Lakers’ coaching search and Caitlin Clark’s Olympic team snub.
A Reluctant MVP
I had to hunt through YouTube for the one-minute MVP trophy ceremony that the NBA (apparently) showed live on NBATV rather than one of their major network channels.
The NBA used to make the MVP announcement seem grander and larger than life. Players would play through injuries to perform in major games. The emotions from winning the prestigious awards would pour out on the television screen, and young ballers would dream of winning it, too. I was not feeling that this year.
By comparison, I remember when Giannis Antetokounmpo won for the first time. I remember Kevin Durant winning and attributing his mom as the REAL MVP. I can go back further with Allen Iverson, Kobe Bryant, and some of the all-time greats in the sport. Nikola Jokic has won three MVP awards and a Finals MVP in the last four years. Despite his early playoff exit, teams are still building their rosters to counter him. NBA fans need more enthusiasm from someone already in the top ten players to play the game.
Blah NBA Finals
If a tree fell in the NBA Finals and nobody was around to hear it, did it make a sound? A shift happened with the NBA coverage after the conference finals ended. Maybe it was the spread-out NBA Finals schedule. Maybe it was injuries. Perhaps it was predictable after the first game. Of course, I correctly predicted how the Finals would play out. But, with Jokic losing and the team that beat him (Minnesota Timberwolves) also bowing out, the NBA Finals lacked its usual spark.
The NBA Finals ratings were dismal, especially with two large fanbases represented. The NBA Finals coverage could have been better, too. Absent were familiar faces like Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson calling games, and Doris Burke sounded strangely biased throughout. JJ Redick had Laker coaching rumors swirling around him. TNT is also rumored to lose its popular NBA on TNT show (Shaq, Ernie, Kenny, and Charles are on a first-name basis with most television watchers).
Fitting for the way the series has been presented. This doesn’t feel like the Finals. ESPN and the NBA does a horrible job with creating anticipation. It’s like “here go the game”. This is the championship series. We don’t even have the Finals logo on the floor anymore https://t.co/CxSYRZwj9M
— The Anonymous Nobody (@el_budget) June 17, 2024
Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown deserve flowers for everything they have endured to reach the mountaintop. However, the NBA is a bit stuck in the mud regarding coverage. I believe Nikola Jokic plays a role in that. This comes from a fan of the league and of Jokic, a player I have watched in person and written about numerous times.
Era of Dominant Bigs
We have reached the dominant big-man era again! After years of Golden State Warriors small ball, the league is now powered by rising centers in tandem with the three-point shot.
Rudy Gobert, with four Defensive Player of the Year Awards, is this generation’s Dikembe Mutombo. He changes shots as much as he blocks them. Victor Wembanyama is in his own stratosphere. I guess that is why he is called The Alien. Kristaps Porzingis was a game-changer for the NBA champion Boston Celtics all season. Chet Holmgren, Paolo Banchero, and a list of others are also in the pipeline.
Some young NBA centers are putting in work this offseason to one day reach the lofty heights of MVP.
.@alperennsengun is on the GRIND while visiting home in Turkey!
— Houston Rockets (@HoustonRockets) June 13, 2024
don't know about y'all, but we can't wait for hoops to return 🥹
🎥: IG // ertanbedir1 pic.twitter.com/1k2LaU7zOS
Meanwhile, Jokic is in offseason mode.
Nikola Jokic update:
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) June 5, 2024
(🎥 @FlouterNET)
pic.twitter.com/ZRN35Kd2fM
Nikola Jokic and Who Else?
As the momentum from the In-Season tournament and trade deadline fades, all we have to tell the NBA story are the players and the media constructs around them. Boredom or indifference is the NBA’s worst enemy. New salary cap rules will restrict player movement in the future. Stars make so much money now that it’s hard to decipher how important winning means to them anymore. Despite the Celtics’ young tandem winning the title, Jokic is the face of the league globally. The NBA is still working on developing more household names.
When LeBron James retires, the NBA will look like this.
Nikola Jokic update pic.twitter.com/WXMQj47c1s
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) June 13, 2024
Nikola Jokic and the NBA are both complicit in chipping away at the aura of NBA accolades. Hopefully, more flamboyant superstars will take center stage. If not, will you still tune in?
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Photo Credit for featured cover image: Getty Images.
