NBA MVP race: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Luka Dončić decline to campaign for award

This week, reporters asked Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Luka Dončić to make their respective cases for the Most Valuable Player award. Both MVP candidates declined to do so.

“No, I’m good,” Gilgeous-Alexander said, laughing, after scoring 47 points in the Oklahoma City Thunder‘s 114-110 overtime win against the Detroit Pistons on Monday. “Thanks for asking, though. But yeah, I’m good. I let my game do the talking.”

“I never [made a case for myself],” Dončić said after scoring 42 points in the Los Angeles Lakers‘ 127-113 win against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday. “I’m not the one voting. But I think I’ve been playing pretty good, we’ve been winning, so that’s it. That’s all I got to say.”

Victor Wembanyama has changed the NBA MVP calculus, and his case is becoming increasingly hard to refute

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Brad Botkin

This year’s MVP race is particularly tight. Rational arguments can be made in favor of Gilgeous-Alexander, Dončić, Victor Wembanyama and Nikola Jokić. Since Jokić is averse to self-promotion, it appears that Wembanyama will be the only one who publicly states why he believes he should win. Last week, he told reporters in Miami that he’s the right choice because defense is 50% of the game (and he’s the league’s most impactful defender), his San Antonio Spurs almost swept the Thunder in the regular season and his impact on offense goes beyond scoring.

It would be funny if Gilgeous-Alexander (the current favorite at -350 at DraftKings) cited his league-leading estimated plus-minus and his clutch numbers. It would be amusing if Dončić rattled off his post-All-Star stats. It’s clear, though, that they’re more comfortable letting others bring this stuff up.

The only other thing Gilgeous-Alexander said about the MVP race is that it’s “good for the league” because it drives interest.

“I think it’s good chatter,” Gilgeous-Alexander told reporters. “It gives people something to talk about. There’s a lot of good players in this league and a lot of guys in the conversation because of that.”

That doesn’t mean, however, that he wants to participate in that conversation.