by Dave Albarado
The “Joker” is NBA’s MVP
Serbia’s Nikola Jokic is the most valuable player (MVP) of the National Basketball Association (NBA).
I think the choice of Jokic as the MVP is great but it would only be meaningful if he is able to lead the Denver Nuggets to the championship.
In the past year, Giannis Antetokounmpo won the award but it was really empty because he was not able to lead the Bucks to the championship.
At this point, the Bucks are the underdogs over the Brooklyn Nets with three superstars and a host of great role players. I think the Nets will win the Eastern Conference this year and will meet either Utah or Los Angeles Clippers in the NBA Finals.
Then again, Jokic has been splendid this year. He is not only the face of the Denver franchise like what Dirk Nowitski brought to Dallas years back, Jokic defined the game of the Nuggets where he flourished as the team’s leader.
What is scary for Nuggets’ opponents is that Jokic is in his prime. Jokic has plenty of things up his sleeve and will only get better as he gets older and wiser.
This year, at least in terms of individual awards, the international players have been doing well. For starters, Utah’s Jordan Clarkson, who is a Filipino, won the 6th Man of the Year Award. His teammate, French center Rudy Gobert, won his second Defensive Player of the Year Award. Then we have Jokic as the MVP for this year. I was also rooting for Luka Doncic for MVP as we all know how precious Doncic is to the Dallas franchise. I think the international players will make a huge dent in the landscape of the NBA as this will also usher a growth in the league by attracting more audiences from different countries.
Speaking of more audiences, another league trying to get more Asian audiences is the Japan B League. It already attracted Thirdy Ravena in its fold and somehow, elder Kiefer, wants to play in Japan because the Japanese league pays a lot more than the PBA.
The issue now is whether or not Kiefer will get the green light to play in Japan considering that he has a live contract with the NLEX Road Warriors. The Road Warriors will never give up Kiefer just like that considering that he is the cornerstone of the team’s offense.
The reality is that Filipinos will seek greener paths and the PBA will be at a losing end if it will not be able to match the offers. Players like CJ Perez, Terrence Romeo, Calvin Abueva, and other PBA superstars will surely be “pirated” by other leagues and the PBA will be left with crumbs. That would be a grim scenario for the local PBA league.