DENVER — The Denver Nuggets will never be 100% respected by the NBA world, even if they win five more championships. It's just the way it is, apparently.
And we saw more proof of that when the NBA on TNT crew announced Nikola Jokic as the 2024 MVP winner. It started out by Shaquille O'Neal saying Joker shouldn't have won, and then the interview with Jokic was more about how his Nuggets were down 2-0 to the Minnesota Timberwolves at the time, rather than about his historic season he just had.
I love Shaq, but that was not a good look to tell Joker right to his face that he shouldn't have won it. And then to ask him about the Timberwolves series? There definitely could have been better questions asked.
How about we change up when we announce these awards? The NBA should not wait until the playoffs to reveal who won, so that they avoid these interviews where the winners are being asked about other stuff besides how they won the award or if there team is losing it somehow diminishes what that player did in the regular-season.
The NBA on TNT crew is the best to have ever done it, but Shaq ruined the night for the fans watching and he only fueled that national narrative about the Nuggets not being worthy. Maybe Shaq is just jealous of the Joker.
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