Nikola Jokić Turned Off by 'Ugly, Nasty' NBA MVP Debate, Nuggets' Michael Malone Says

Denver Nuggets coach Michael Malone said star Nikola Jokić has been turned off by the "ugly, nasty" debate regarding the 2022-23 NBA MVP race.

"I think this year unfortunately has just taken a really ugly, nasty turn in the MVP conversation, and I think it's really turned a lot of people off, including [Jokić]," Malone told reporters Wednesday.

He continued:

"And what's happening now is there's so many guys that could win the MVP this year—great candidates. Joel Embiid is a great candidate. Luka Dončić is a great candidate. Jayson Tatum—whoever you want to put in that mix, those are all deserving. But what happens in today's society is that everybody—it's like when I was a college coach—all the negative recruiting. It's not promoting my guy. It's ripping down every other guy, and that's just ridiculous.

"This game—as Adam Silver told us at the All-Star break—the game is in a great spot. The league's in a great spot. We have great players. Celebrate them. Don't criticize. Don't tear them down. Build them all up, and whoever wins it, good for them. That's one thing that's been really disappointing this year with the whole MVP conversation and all the hot takes. It's really just gotten ugly and nasty, and I really don't care for it."

Jokić has been the favorite to win the MVP for much of the season and for good reason. He's averaging 24.8 points, 11.9 rebounds and 9.9 assists per game and could become the first big man to average a triple-double over an entire season.

The Nuggets are also a mortal lock for the best record in the Western Conference, carrying a 3.5-game lead over the Memphis Grizzlies with nine games to play.

As Malone points out, the conversation surrounding Jokić's candidacy has had almost nothing to do with his on-court play.

Instead, it's become a narrative-driven rock-throwing contest—with many media pundits recategorizing a regular-season award to account for postseason failures or wondering whether Jokić "deserves" to win a third straight MVP when the likes of Michael Jordan and LeBron James never did.

In perhaps the most insidious narrative push, Kendrick Perkins of ESPN hinted at a racial bias favoring Jokić because he is white. ESPN's First Take issued a correction of Perkins' assertion that 80 percent of the NBA awards voting pool is white, a number that was not based on any factual evidence.

Molly Qerim said in an on-air statement (h/t SI.com's Madison Williams):

"I want to correct something here from yesterday's show, when Kendrick Perkins said that 80 percent of NBA voters for the MVP award are white. The NBA publicly announces the voters each year, and after review, it is clear that the panel is much more diverse than what was portrayed by Kendrick Perkins, and we wanted to make sure that we corrected that today."

Basketball Hall of Famer Charles Barkley ripped Perkins on Denver's Altitude Sports Radio (h/t People), calling his comments "one of the most stupid things I've ever heard."

For his part, Jokić has maintained he does not care about the MVP award and only about winning basketball games.

The other major narrative holding Jokić back—the Nuggets' playoff struggles—does not hold much weight, either. He has led Denver deeper into the playoffs than Embiid ever has the Sixers.

Embiid is the -150 favorite at FanDuel Sportsbook. It's fair to wonder whether the unfair narrative surrounding Jokić has played a part in his drop to second in the odds.