Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis. Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

Anthony Davis' MVP case thwarted by Nikola Jokic

By Sai Mohan | Last updated Nov 25, 2024 1:10 PM ET

Anthony Davis is averaging career-highs in points (30.1), 3PT% (40.6) and FTM (8.1 per game) while also anchoring the Lakers defense. If Los Angeles can maintain a top-four seed in the competitive West, he warrants consideration for MVP.

But his MVP chances take a jolt every time he runs into Nikola Jokic, the man who owns a 14-3 head-to-head record (playoffs included) over Davis' Lakers since the start of the 2021-22 season.

In those 17 matchups, Jokic has dominated Davis in every category except blocks (points: 492 to 409, rebounds: 244 to 214, assists: 160 to 58 and steals: 24 to 20) and even in various advanced metrics.

Even more alarmingly, in eight regular-season games during that time frame, Jokic is a +217 on the floor, and Davis is a -101. In the playoffs, Jokic is a +58, and Davis is a -47 in nine meetings. It's not been a fair fight.

In their latest matchup over the weekend, the trend continued, with Jokic pouring in 34/13/8 to Davis' meager 14/10/3 in Denver's 127-102 win. Jokic was a +39 on the floor to Davis' -26.

To make matters worse, Jokic — not known for his defense — did a terrific job guarding Davis one-on-one. Davis was 2-of-12 shooting in 8:51 minutes when the Serb was his primary defender. On the other end, Jokic went 4-of-7 shooting on Davis, including two threes.

Jokic has Davis' number, both figuratively and literally.

Anthony Davis had no interest in challenging Nikola Jokic at the rim. pic.twitter.com/ZBpIIlQ2zD
— Harrison Wind (@HarrisonWind) November 25, 2024

Perhaps Jokic has some psychological hold over him, but Davis continues to produce stinkers while going up against the best player in the league and his biggest hurdle to the Michael Jordan Trophy.

Even if Davis sustains his career-high numbers and leads the Lakers to a top-three seed — which will be an impressive feat — voters will continue to cite his performances against Jokic and possibly snub him from consideration. To quote the iconic Ric Flair, "To be the man, you gotta beat the man."

Davis will run into his bogeyman three more times this season — on Feb. 22, March 14 and March 19. He must thoroughly outplay Jokic to help voters erase memories of the last two years. And even then, it may not be enough to help him win his elusive MVP.

Sai Mohan

A veteran sportswriter based in Portugal, Sai covers the NBA for Yardbarker and a few local news outlets. He had the honor of covering sporting events across four different continents as a newspaper reporter. Some of his all-time favorite athletes include Mike Tyson, Larry Bird, Luís Figo, Ayrton Senna and Steffi Graf.

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