The rematch between the Denver Nuggets and Oklahoma City Thunder this week didn’t just solidify a new rivalry. It also swayed the race for the highest individual award in the league one way. The debate for the 2026 NBA Most Valuable Player award may have reached its finish line this week, at least according to Draymond Green. After what he saw in the high-stakes showdown between OKC and the Nuggets, the Warriors forward delivered a blunt assessment about the MVP standings on The Draymond Green Show.

While acknowledging Nikola Jokic’s perennial greatness, Green argued that the Joker has failed to do enough to reclaim the trophy from the reigning MVP, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. “I think as great as Joker has been, I don’t think he’s done anything to where it was like, ‘Oh, that’s the moment where it completely shifted from Shai to Joker,'” Green stated.

He’s not even blaming Jokic for it. According to Green, there’s a bit psychology behind the awards voting. Green explained that as the reigning MVP, the race is essentially SGA’s to lose. “I think when you have a player who is the MVP and then they’re right there in the race… it’s their award to lose. And in order for them to lose it, you have to do something to take the award away from them. Joker’s been great… but I don’t think he’s done anything to necessarily take it away from Shai.”

While Jokic is putting up MVP numbers, in that Nuggets game, SGA tied Wilt Chamberlain’s 60-year-old ‘untouchable’ record (which he surpassed against the Knicks yesterday). It reinforces Green’s statement that Jokic’s intense productivity is not stopping Shai from rewriting history.

“So I think right now it definitely is Shai,” Draymond Green concluded. “What Shai is doing is incredible. It’s like he keeps getting better and better and I respect that ’cause, you know, ultimately you putting the work in.”

Green’s harsh reality check suggests that despite Jokic’s statistically dominant season, the narrative momentum remains firmly with the Thunder superstar.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s got a firm grip on the MVP title over Nikola Jokic

The matchup on March 9, 2026 was eventful to say the least. After how the Nuggets and OKC’s game on February 27 went (Jokic nearly jumped Lu Dort and Jaylin Williams, Dort was ejected, coaches had a back-and-forth, announcers were taunting players), this game was just as intense. Once again Dort and Jokic had an altercation. However, both players brushed it off and even the coaches walked back their previous jabs.

This drama didn’t take away from the fact that Oklahoma City reasserted its dominance in the Western Conference with a 129-126 victory over Denver. Many analysts called time on the MVP race once Shai put up a staggering 35 points, 15 assists, and 9 rebounds with zero turnovers, a statline only LeBron James has made before. This performance also saw Gilgeous-Alexander tie Wilt Chamberlain’s all-time record of 126 consecutive games scoring 20+ points.

For what it’s worth, even Jokic agreed that the record alone proved SGA was a strong contender. “I don’t know that people know how hard it is to do that. To make 20 points in 10 [straight] games, not 120, whatever it is… He’s a special player,” Jokic said after that game.

The game reached a fever pitch in the final seconds when Jokic and Jamal Murray’s combined four-point play tied the game. It almost went into overtime play until SGA buried a cold-blooded stepback three-pointer over Christian Braun to seal the win.

While Jokic remains a formidable threat, averaging a near triple-double and leading the league in several advanced metrics, the Thunder’s 3-0 head-to-head record against the Nuggets this season has become an insurmountable hurdle in the court of public opinion.