2024-25 NBA Media Poll: Will Luka Doncic or Shai Gilgeous-Alexander dethrone Nikola Jokic for MVP?

10/08/2024 12:14 PM

Nikola Jokic has claimed three of the last four NBA MVP awards. If it wasn’t for Joel Embiid during the 2022-23 season, Jokic would have four straight MVP awards. The Denver Nuggets superstar has undoubtedly been the best player in the league, but the 2023-24 season proved that there are other superstars on the verge of capturing their first MVP honors like Luka Doncic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and even Jalen Brunson.

Ahead of the 2024-25 season, the race for the MVP award is as wide open as it has been in quite some time. The main reason this is such a wide open race in the preseason is due to the fact that each candidate brings a unique angle to the table.

For Jokic, he is the most dominant player in the world and has earned the MVP award numerous times. However, Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder claimed the 1-seed in the Western Conference last year and have proven to be legitimate championship contenders. There is then Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks, who are coming off a trip to the 2024 NBA Finals. Perhaps Brunson or another name will also emerge in the MVP race, similar to what happened with Gilgeous-Alexander last year.

There is so much talent across the NBA right now, making for excellent competition and award races. That is why it is extremely hard to predict who will win the 2024-25 NBA Most Valuable Player award.

Although nobody has the answer to who will receive the league’s highest honor in 2025, a total of 30 different media members across the NBA, some of whom are official NBA voters, participated in ClutchPoints’ preseason media poll. Along with being asked about their predictions for the 2025 NBA Finals and how the season as a whole will play out, these media members were asked the tough question of naming their early pick for MVP.

While the voting was close, the media chose a clear favorite for the 2024-25 MVP award.

ClutchPoints’ 2024-25 NBA Most Valuable Player media poll results

1. Luka Doncic (Dallas Mavericks) – 46.7%

2. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Oklahoma City Thunder) – 33.3%

T3. Nikola Jokic (Denver Nuggets) – 6.7%

T3. Jalen Brunson (New York Knicks) – 6.7%

Others receiving votes: Giannis Antetokounmpo (MIL), Ja Morant (MEM)

Luka Doncic vs. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for MVP

Both Doncic and Gilgeous-Alexander received consideration for the 2023-24 NBA MVP award. While Jokic won the award with 79 first-place votes, the Thunder guard made a name for himself by finishing second with 15 first-place votes. Doncic got only four first-place votes despite his near triple-double season.

No matter how you look at these two players, there is no argument against them being the favorites for the MVP award this upcoming season. With just two weeks until the 2024-25 regular season begins, NBA media members are projecting Doncic to beat out Gilgeous-Alexander and claim his first MVP award. In fact, Doncic received just under half of the total preseason votes that were cast.

The Mavs had a special season last year, as they made it all the way to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2011. Of course, Doncic was the main reason for his team’s success, as the Slovenian star averaged 33.9 points, 9.8 assists, and 9.2 rebounds per game while shooting 48.7 percent from the floor and 38.2 percent from three-point range. Luka led the league in scoring for the first time in his career, and he registered 49 double-doubles in 70 total games, the most by a non-frontcourt player.

Now that Klay Thompson is in Dallas, Doncic’s job is only set to get easier, as the Mavericks have even more offensive firepower for the MVP frontrunner to play around with.

On the flip side of things, Gilgeous-Alexander is set to pick up right where he left off. Now, the young guard has a chip on his shoulder and is ready to take the next step after the Thunder lost to Doncic’s Mavs in the second round of the playoffs despite earning the 1-seed in the West. OKC has only gotten better by signing Isaiah Hartenstein and trading Josh Giddey for Alex Caruso.

In a total of 75 games last season, Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 30.1 points, 6.2 assists, 5.5 rebounds, and 2.0 steals per game while shooting 53.5 percent from the floor. He finished second behind Doncic in total points scored (2,254) and fourth in field goals made (796). It is worth noting that SGA was tied with De’Aaron Fox for the most steals (150) and steals per game (2.0) in the league.

The only difference between Doncic and Gilgeous-Alexander is that while the Mavs star is an all-around offensive and triple-double threat, Gilgeous-Alexander is a two-way threat. Should these two be battling for MVP late in the season, the vote could realistically come down to which team finishes with a better record.

Nikola Jokic, Jalen Brunson viewed as dark-horse MVP candidates

We can’t forget about the other superstar talents around the league who are vying for the MVP award ahead of the 2024-25 NBA season. Jokic is obviously going to be in the running for the award as long as he is healthy, and Brunson is once again going to play the role of the underdog in this race. However, a lot more attention is being given to Brunson and the New York Knicks right now after all of the major moves they made this offseason.

In addition to bringing back OG Anunoby on a big contract, the Knicks acquired both Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns in their hunt for a title. The Knicks essentially look like a make-believe roster on NBA 2K right now since their roster is filled with firepower and talent. Towns, Bridges, Anunoby, and Josh Hart are all the types of players who can thrive off the ball on offense next to Brunson, which is why the overwhelming belief about the Knicks entering the new season is that they have what it takes to possibly take down the Boston Celtics.

Outside of all the noise surrounding Towns and Bridges, many tend to overlook the numbers Brunson put up last year. Only missing five total games, Brunson averaged 28.7 points, 6.7 assists, and 3.6 rebounds while shooting 47.9 percent from the floor and 40.1 percent from three-point range. Brunson’s career high in scoring is a testament to his ability to thrive in isolation and pick-and-roll sets. It is not hard to say that Brunson is one of the best when it comes to utilizing screens to get to his spots in the mid-range area, where he can often times also draw fouls.

A 50-win season and possibly taking the top spot in the Eastern Conference over the Celtics would 100 percent result in Brunson taking home the MVP award.

The big question about the MVP race entering the 2024-25 season is whether or not Jokic can do the unthinkable and claim his fourth award in a five-year span. Only LeBron James and Bill Russell ever achieved such a feat.

At this point, there could absolutely be some voter fatigue that catches up with Jokic. That is what happened when Jokic didn’t receive as many votes as he probably should’ve for the award during the 2022-23 season.

What else could Jokic truly do in order to separate himself from the rest of the players in this award race? While Doncic, Gilgeous-Alexander, and Brunson continue to improve and help their team reach new heights, Jokic is simply continuing to be great. It will be very interesting to see how his constant MVP numbers stack up with the improvements of others.

No matter what, these are the four players who will be associated with the 2024-25 NBA MVP award race. Buckle up, because it should be a good one.

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