Nuggets' ex-coach betrays Nikola Jokić, confuses fans with SGA comments

Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokić and Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander are the two favorites for MVP.

Gilgeous-Alexander out-dueled Jokić in the Western Conference Semifinals, but the MVP votes had already been submitted long before then (which leads to the question, why hasn’t the winner been announced?).

Most people assume SGA will take home the award, but Jokić has an incredibly strong case given his historic season.

Back in March, then-Denver Nuggets head coach Mike Malone told reporters that Jokić should be the MVP over Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

"Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is a great player, and if he wins his first MVP, he's deserving of that," Malone said (per The Athletic).

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“My thing is this: If you didn't know that Nikola won three MVPs, and I put Player A and Player B on paper … the guy that was averaging a triple-double, the guy that is top-three in the three major statistical categories, things that no one has ever done, he wins the MVP 10 times out of 10. And if you don't think so, I think you guys are all bull---ting."

It was a classic case of a coach standing up for his player. Also, Malone had an objectively solid point about Jokić’s statistical magnificence.

But fans are now criticizing Malone for changing his tune on the MVP award, merely two months after the above interview.

Now working as an analyst for ESPN, Malone spoke into a microphone on national television on Tuesday night and praised Gilgeous-Alexander following the Thunder’s Game 1 WCF win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

“(Gilgeous-Alexander) showed why he’s the MVP,” Malone said.

Fans immediately flocked to social media, accusing Malone of betraying Jokić.

It was a hilarious moment more than anything else, and in Malone’s defense, he’s now wearing a different hat in the analyst chair (and of course is no longer employed by the Nuggets).

There wasn’t anything Malone said to indicate resentment towards Jokić; he was merely giving SGA his flowers.

Even so, the narrative will persist that Malone has beef with Jokić and has completely changed his tune about the MVP award.

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