ESPN interviewed 18 NBA coaches and executives and asked them for their opinions on players and teams, their predictions about awards and winners, and tried to predict the future. the media on their thoughts, but it’s always fun to see what people on the other side of the coin think.
The most popular opinion across all poll questions was that Nikola Jokic is the best player in the world. 15 of 18 respondents agreed with that sentiment, and the only other votes were two for Luka Doncic and one vote for Anthony Edwards.
Yet despite this overwhelming confidence in Jokic, only two of the voters picked Jokic to win his fourth MVP award this season. They clearly understand that the award is largely based on narratives and that even if Jokic is the best player, he will have to outdo himself for voters to give him the award for a fourth time in five years.
Voters in this poll also believe that Jokic’s glory days are coming to an end. Although 15 of the 18 voters believe he is the best player in the NBA right now, only one voter chose the Joker as the best player in five years. The majority of voters chose Victor Wembanyama.
In terms of team success, the 18 voters had very little faith in Denver. Three Western Conference teams received votes to win the conference; 14 picked the Thunder, 2 picked the Mavericks, and 2 picked the Timberwolves. There were no votes for the Nuggets.
The same was true for the team that won the NBA championship. Five teams received votes, the Celtics received 8 and the Thunder received 7. The Mavs, Bucks and Wolves all received one vote.
These polls seem pretty representative of the league’s opinion of the Nuggets. Everyone has faith in Jokic and accepts that he’s the best player alive. But people are much more skeptical of the team around him. If the Nuggets want to get back in contention, they’re going to surprise a lot of skeptics along the way.
