'I Mean No Disrespect': Stephen A. Smith Makes Ruthless Claim About Nikola Jokic's MVP Chances Following Historic Nuggets Performance

The Denver Nuggets and Minnesota Timberwolves played a game for the ages on Tuesday at the Ball Arena. Nikola Jokic made the headlines by scoring a career-high 61 points in the game, but what's startling is that the Nuggets still ended up on the losing side. The Timberwolves left the Nuggets heartbroken with a one-point win. There was a lot to reflect on the game following its culmination but Russell Westbrook's errors in the clutch situation remained the biggest talking point. However, what came as a surprise is that the outspoken ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith did not pay much heed to Westbrook's performance.

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Stephen A. Smith Went Easy On Russell Westbrook

Stephen A. Smith was apparently happier about Nikola Jokic's remarkable performance than the Denver Nuggets' loss. The 3-time MVP scored 61 points and added up 10 rebounds and as many assists to complete the triple-double once again.

“I mean no disrespect, but the bottom line is that those kind of mishaps, I’m talking about the decision-making, is something that has plagued him throughout his career,” Smith said.

Westbrook's dubious decision-making is not new, which is perhaps why Smith does not believe it is more newsworthy than Jokic's performance. Meanwhile, the Serbian superstar's dominance over Rudy Gobert, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, shocked Smith.

However, despite Jokic’s historic performance, Smith still doesn’t believe he is the MVP of the league.

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Smith Backs SGA Over Joker

For nearly the entire season, Jokic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander have been locked in a two-man race for MVP. Things have become more exciting over the last month as a result of Jokic's strong performance, which has shortened the gap between him and the Thunder guard, yet Smith remains undeterred.

Smith has publicly used his platform to voice his support for SGA’s claim as league MVP. “SGA is going to win the MVP. I don’t care what Jokic does,” he said.