The NBA’s top two candidates for the Most Valuable Player award — Oklahoma City Thunder’s All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Denver Nuggets’ All-Star Nikola Jokic — will face off on back-to-back nights at the Paycom Center. Thunder veteran guard Alex Caruso is thrilled about his team’s challenge that starts Sunday afternoon. He discussed how significant this year’s MVP race is in Oklahoma City’s upcoming two games.
Are Gilgeous-Alexander’s teammates feeling the pressure to beat the Nuggets as both candidates gear towards the end of their MVP race?
“I don’t think so, and I don’t mean that in a sense, we don’t want him to get that edge, and we don’t want him to win because we think he’s obviously very deserving,” Caruso replied. “But a lot of our mantra as a team is play for the team, play to win, and at the end of the day, through that success, the individual accolades and awards will come. It’s not Shai deflecting and smoke-screening just to get the questions off. I truly think that’s how he views it.
“And that’s what makes him such a great leader for this team, and a great player to follow out there on the court is because he truly cares about winning, and he’s competitive in that. Obviously, it would be nice for him to get represented for the season he’s having. But, obviously, like I said earlier, I think he wants to do that through winning as well,” Caruso concluded.
The reigning two-time MVP Nikola Jokic is coming off recording the first 30/20/20 game after finishing with an incredible 31 points, 22 assists, and 21 rebounds in a 149-141 overtime win against the Phoenix Suns.
Alex Caruso on a potential co-MVP award before Thunder matchup
While leading the Western Conference standings (52-11), Alex Caruso is excited to face the Nuggets’ championship-caliber squad after helping the Thunder beat the Trail Blazers 107-89 on Friday. However, regarding the MVP conversation between Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokic, he’d like to see the NBA crown one victor instead of settling for co-MVPs.
Caruso shared his take after practice on Saturday.
“I’m a traditionalist. I like one winner,” Caruso said. “Someone’s having a better season; just pick it.”
Gilgeous-Alexander enters the Thunder’s back-to-back against the Nuggets leading the NBA in scoring with 32.8 points per game. He’s also second in steals (1.8), averaging 6.2 assists and 5.1 rebounds. Jokic, averaging 28.9 points per game, is third in scoring, second in assists (10.6), and third in rebounding (12.9) while averaging a triple-double for the Nuggets.
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