NBA Star Suggests Conspiracy Is Blocking Nikola Jokic From Winning 4th MVP

With the 2025-26 NBA regular season wrapping up Sunday, attention on the court turns to play-in/playoff games. However, off the court, the spotlight is on the league’s annual awards ceremony, where the MVP is the marquee event. 

Among the headliners for the awards are Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Victor Wembanyama and Nikola Jokic.

However, from polls, MVP ladder and various sources, plenty of observers, including current players, argue one name stands out as most deserving yet will fall short for reasons that have little to do with on-court performance. 

GettyDenver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic reacts during a game.

Jokic, a three-time MVP, has concluded another historic campaign, yet whispers of bias suggest he may be blocked from a fourth award in what some are framing as an unspoken conspiracy to avoid crowning the same player again so soon.

Veteran Player Doesn’t Think Nikola Jokic Will Win The Award

Milwaukee Bucks forward Bobby Portis has been among the vocal players in this year’s MVP race, and he made the sentiment on Jokic crystal clear in a recent interview. 

“Nobody gonna vote for Jokic [to win the MVP award] because he already has three of them and they probably don’t want to give him four,” Portis said.

Portis acknowledged the other candidates but made it clear that the only reason the Denver Nuggets superstar is not considered the favorite this year is because of his previous three awards. 

After winning in 2021, 2022 and most recently in 2024, he has faced questions about whether voters have grown weary of handing the hardware to the same player. 

Jokic hasn’t dipped in form since his last award and has continued to dominate the league on a nightly basis even as the modern era has transitioned away from dominant bigs. 

Making a Strong Case for MVP 

This season, Jokic averaged 27.7 points, 12.9 rebounds and 10.7 assists per game while shooting at an elite 67% true shooting, numbers that are even better than his 2023-24 MVP season. He led the league in rebounds and assists and finished in the top 10 in scoring. He also led the NBA in triple-doubles for the second year running, joining Russell Westbrook as the only players to do so in consecutive years.

Portis believes if the MVP is about rewarding the best player in the season, then the Nuggets star should be a clear winner. Unfortunately, players don’t have voting rights for the MVP award. 

Yet, the latest Kia MVP Ladder and various online polls will suggest otherwise. 

Wembanyama made a MVP surge in the final weeks of the regular season. Gilgeous-Alexander is the reigning MVP and maintained a strong run to retain his crown while guiding the Thunder to the best regular-season record. Jokic is in the top three but hasn’t been pegged as a strong favorite over those two. 

While there is no official confirmation on who would win it yet, the current signs suggest that the Serb could finish in his current third spot, despite arguably playing his most complete basketball on the floor.

The winner of the 2025-26 Michael Jordan Trophy will likely be announced after the second round of the NBA playoffs.

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