Jokic tops poll for best player; Gilgeous-Alexander nominated for 2024/25 MVP

Nikola Jokic is the best NBA player right now, but he won’t win the Most Valuable Player award again next season.

That’s the majority opinion of the 18 NBA coaches, scouts and executives surveyed by ESPN’s Tim Bontemps. All but three believe Jokic is the best player in the league.

However, when the topic of next season’s MVP came up, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander received seven votes. A handful voted Luka Doncic Jokic only received two votes.

The thunder And Celts are the clear favorites to emerge from their respective conferences and face each other in the finals. Boston received 13 votes to win the East, while Oklahoma City received 14 votes to win the West. The Celtics received eight votes to defend their title, while the Thunder were voted for by seven group members.

There was no love for the top pick in the draft, Zaccharie Risacher.The Falcons Big Man did not receive a single vote for Rookie of the Year. The same goes for the question about the best player in the 2024/25 rookie class in five years. Grizzlies center Zach Edney received the most votes from the jury for ROY, while Rockets guard Reed Sheppard was voted the best of the group in five years by eight of them.

Victor Wembanyama received two-thirds of the votes for the best player of the last five years.