Nikola Jokic Crushes Best Player Poll: 66% of NBA Insiders Pick Him Over Everyone
Here's the thing about MVP voting and "best player in the league" voting: they're not the same conversation. One is about team success and games played. The other is pure talent. Stephen Noh from The Sporting News just ran a poll asking 53 media members, current and former team executives, and scouts one simple question: who is the best player in the NBA right now, period?
The answer was not even close. Nikola Jokic absolutely dominated, pulling in 35 votes out of 53 (66%). Shai Gilgeous-Alexander came in second with 10 votes (18.9%), and Victor Wembanyama grabbed 8 (15.1%). Only three players got votes at all.
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Here's what's wild: many Jokic voters said they wouldn't even pick him for MVP this season. But for a playoff series? For Game 7 of the Finals? Give them Jokic every single time.
The numbers speak for themselves. He's averaging 28 points, 13 rebounds, and 11 assists per game. Top 10 in scoring and averaging a triple-double at center is absurd, one voter said.
Mike Shearer from Basketball Poetry summed it up perfectly: "Jokic is arguably the greatest, most well-rounded offensive player in history." Another anonymous voter acknowledged that Jokic's health limited him at points this season and he wasn't playing to his usual standards coming back from injury. But that didn't matter. "Whether he rushed back to meet 65 games or not," the voter explained, "if I can only have one for a playoff run, I still lean Jokic."
Gilgeous-Alexander's Complete Game
SGA's crew focused on his two-way dominance. One voter called his case "bulletproof": "Complete control of games offensively, including clutch time, plus defense, as available as any of the other options. Just a complete bulletproof case in my opinion."
Others raved about his underrated offensive fluidity, especially his mid-range game. "He can create an efficient shot in any situation," one voter noted. One voter put it simply: "He is the most inevitable."
But here's the thing: when the playoffs matter most, voters still trusted Jokic's ability to take over games in ways nobody else can.
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