Comparing Jokic and SGA ahead of MVP showdown

NUGGETS JOURNAL

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, left, and Nuggets center Nikola Jokic sit on the bench during part of the NBA All-Star Game at Chase Center in San Francisco on Feb. 16. The respective stars are currently the frontrunners for league MVP. AARON ONTIVEROZ — THE DENVER POST

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OKLAHOMA CITY >> The last time Denver and Oklahoma City convened, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder didn’t know what losing felt like yet.

Nikola Jokic introduced them to it. He went for 23 points, 20 rebounds and 16 assists in a comeback win for the Nuggets, snapping OKC’s 7-0 start to the season.

But that was Nov. 8. It will have been four months since Peyton Watson blocked Gilgeous-Alexander at the buzzer when the Nuggets visit Paycom Center this weekend for a marquee back-to-back that starts Sunday (11 a.m. MT, ABC). And the Thunder still doesn’t really know what losing feels like.

Its net rating is 12.7, short of only the 1995-96 Bulls for the best in NBA history. Its 51-11 record includes only two double-digit losses. Its average margin of defeat is 6.4 points.

The resounding team success owes a tip of the cap to SGA, who has vaulted himself into the MVP discussion with Jokic. In fact, Gilgeous-Alexander is the apparent frontrunner at this point. Betting odds deem him anywhere between a -600 (FanDuel) and -650 (DraftKings) favorite to win the award. ESPN’s February “straw poll” of potential MVP voters revealed that Gilgeous-Alexander received 70 first-place votes to Jokic’s 30.

Whatever the margin is between them, it’s almost definitely a two-horse race. That only adds to the significance of these two games, which already represent litmus tests for a Nuggets team that has struggled against other top contenders. All eyes will be on Oklahoma City. Can Jokic make up ground in the pursuit of a fourth MVP?

He heaped praise on Gilgeous-Alexander this week in the Nuggets’ locker room when asked about the OKC point guard.

“I mean, he’s playing amazing. He’s definitely up there,” Jokic said. “They’re playing good as a team, and he’s a really good bucket-getter. He’s really good defensively, too. He’s leading that team really good.”

Both players are backed up by mind-boggling numbers. Gilgeous-Alexander recently dropped his fourth 50-point game in a 40-day stretch; no other player has more than one 50-point outing this season. He shot a combined 56% in those four games. Jokic has more triple-doubles before the fourth quarter than any other player has total. Averaging a triple-double with 20 games remaining, he’s on pace to finish with the third-most ever in a single season.

Charted above is a closer look at the statistical comparison between the two ahead of their clash in Oklahoma City.