Our Final NBA Awards Check-In: MVP, All-NBA, Defensive Player of the Year & More | The Dunker Spot 

I'm not even a Mavs fan at all but having Shai ahead of Luka at this point is just crazy

Disagree that Luka has made any recent push. He has lower stats in his back to back player of the month wins than the previous two months. People out of their minds if you think the Mavs would not make up 5 games if they weren't the second most injured team in the West this season.

Luka having the Mavs on pace for 50+ wins in this loaded West considering all the injuries he’s had to deal with doesn’t get mentioned enough. Many pundits prior to the season did not anticipate the Mavs being this good. Luka has consistently played at arguably best in the world levels with a plethora MVP moments to choose from throughout the season. To me his case is as strong as anyone’s to WIN the award.

Not a Mavs fan, but that was some incredibly flimsy reasoning for keeping Shai at #2 lol. What?

When it comes to luka suddenly stats and context don’t matter People don’t realize how crazy 34/9/10 is and he is the most doubled and blitzed player in the league and in those situations he will make the right pass 100% of the time But I guess shais touches in the paint matter more🤷🏻‍♂️

Shai 2nd in mvp over luka is hilarious and saying that luka made a 2nd half push shows that you simply didn’t watch him in the 1st half of the season

I would absolutely love to know what Luka has to do to get to number TWO this season, let alone number one. What exactly are ya'll missing from him? Cause two weeks ago it was wins, and that's just not the problem any more. Shai is awesome, but this is so incredibly frustrating.

What do you mean Luka's "second half push"????? He averaged 37/9/11 in December and slipped down to 37/9/10.5 in January and just wasn't in the MVP discussion because Mavs went 8-7 due to half of their rotation being injured. What is this nonsense

13:50 he said that celtics are 57-15 where jayson tatum played as a compliment as if that doesn't mean that they are 5-1 where he doesn't play😂😂😂

I don't understand people taking Shai over Luka, the reasoning given here felt like nonsense.

Cavs fan here, but not having Luka ahead of Shai at this point is kind of ridiculous

Thunder are only 5 games better than the Mavs and the Mavs were without their starters for 80+ games. Luka kept the ship together. Yet Shais team with great health is ONLY 5 games better lol

Shai was dealing with quad injury? Luka been dealing niggles whole season. Growth as a pull up 3 point shooter for Shai? He takes 3.5 per game!!! Luka became the best 3 point shooter in the league outside of Curry this season. Go see where Mavs were on everyone's preseason expections and where they are now. Bs

Still having Shai at 2 is madness

bruh, just give shai all the awards, MVP check, oh he been shooting better at the 3, give him MIP as well. oh dang SHAI is topping on steals why not let give him the DPOY as well. Thunders are doing well, let's give SHAI the coach of the year too. I bet Shai deserve executive of the year as well maybe he was the one who drafted the team too.

What has Shai done to deserve the two spot over Luka. Luka is creating the most offensive points per game in nba history.

Ngl, he said shai at 2 and i have to stop watcing cuz thats crazy. Shai is an incredible player and has had a really good season, but im so tired of the luka disrespect man. He is at least a lock for nr 2.

Lame arguments for Shay on 2nd place. Its cleary Luka looking at different stats !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Your Argument for jb, All the injuries, applies for Luka over shai as well. There was a long stretch without Kyrie there was one without lively. Here we are without lively again. Figuring out the new trade additions. Thats stuff that shai did Not have and i think a lot of the early success of okc was teams underestimating okc

There's actually no way y'all still believe Luka is the third... When Luka was 4th seed, Jokic won the MVP from 6th spot. At that time, seeding didn't matter. Now, Luka is 5th seed (higher than 6th, just to make it abundantly clear), oh it's still Jokic. In no real person's world is Shai number 2 in this list. And to top it all of we get this BS that Jalen Brunson had to deal with injuries, as if Luka hasn't had to (with a better record btw). Please man, if you're going to be disingenuous at least have the cojones to say that you don't like him.

Shai could average 20ppg and they’re still gonna put him over Luka. Oh he’s dealing with a quad injury? Let’s feel bad for him. Kyrie missed 22 games and Lively 25 games bleeding knee playing through knee soreness and ankle sprains. Yeah that’s not good enough Luka. Clowns!🤡

Lol the hate on dallas is real , not considering luka as the clear 2 contenders for the mvp , and they not even mention Kyrie is the clutch player of the year lmao , they are a joke , and the right one is just inlove on jokic and even named him to clutch player of the year , go watch how much kyrie score in the clutch , just look his last game what he did to the rockets. Do they even watch or just read stat sheet and pick their guy if he mentioned there.

Shai is the 5th best guard in the NBA. There is a level between him and Luka. He is not having a better season than Luka.

Luka is the most dominant player putting up crazy stats and has his team solidly in the playoff mix, but Joker is literally playing 4D chess every night on the best team in basketball. So it’s gotta be one of them imo. Just depends on what you value more

If you still have Shai over Luka this late in the season, Im sorry you dont deserve to talk ball. Luka deserves the most to be the MVP.

Luka is better than Shai by FAR, it's not even close. Luka is a generational talent, Shai is a superstar. The only argument is that Shai has 5 more wins than Luka, that means nothing imo.

how ironic is that he putted luka at 3 but then had the same argument LITTERALLY between brunson and tatum but was saying that he would have putted bruns pver tatum..... and the gap between brunson and tatum in wins and defense is even bigger since tatum is at the moment 16 games over bruns brunson arguments over tatum: -load carried (being doubled) -team injouries -great stats and efficiency brunson is 16 wins from tatums wins lukas argument over shai and jokic -load carried (most doubled player , twice as mutch as the second most and 3 times as mutch as every other mvp candidate) -team injouries (kyrie + 3 starters and a key rotational piece all missed 21+ games : ky 22, josh green 23, lively 23 , exum 21, kleber 37) - great stats and efficiency ( 34 9 and 10 outlier season while taking the most jumpers and the most unassisted shots) Luka is 5 wins from okc and 6 from denver..... id you agree with that argument then its a stronger argument betwen luka and the other mvps than between brunson and tatum or edwards

I find it ironic that all these media types try to find a reason not to give Luka the MVP . The league leader in scoring and 2nd in assist 7th in steals (you never hear about that from the media) 16th in rebounding as a PG , most blitzed and doubled in the NBA and 15-2 to end the season. Luka 27 ppg without free throws is 3 ppg better than 2nd Embib 4 better than shai 5 better than Joker. You don't win MVP based on what you did last year . seeding shouldn't matter based on past MVP's over the last 10 years so I don't want to hear that because it's BS.

This is insulting to people that watched the games all year. Downvote and out

Y'all keep mentioning how no one expected this from OKC and Shai but nearly every basketball "expert" had Dallas in the play-in or even MISSING it.... please Lord tell me these dudes don't have official votes.

Once again proving that the voters are a joke to the league. Having SGA at 2 when you have the seasons of Giannis and Luka, they should revoke your vote from this conversation.

They suddenly quit talking about numbers when comparing Luka to Shai and Jokic

Shai ahead of luka is just ridiculous. And the reasoning is dumb as well. We don't care about his Growth as a scorer, his growth as a driver, mid-range or whatever. Is having a better scoring season than luka? NO. Is he having a better playmaking season than luka? NO. The fact that he has a young team that's been HEALTHY all season is taken into account but the fact that Luka's highest played 5 man lineup has only just cracked 100 minutes(Jokic and Denver have 800) because of injury isn't?? FOH And yes luka isn't a great defender but rebounds are a defensive stat as well and Luka is top 15 in rebounds per game as a guard...

To all of you screeching about Luka, listen to what they're saying. They made all the arguments for him you are spamming in the comments. They literally said if Luka gets #1 he 100% deserves it. You are just too upset to listen. If you have to undermine these other guys to justify your feelings about Luka, you are the one that is ignorant. 1. 26:32 2. 27:19 3. 28:30

These consistency of the comments show you how crazy these two are! Everyone here knows that Luka should be number 2 in the MVP behind only Jokic. Having him behind SGA is crazy!

naah, "I still have Shai at 2"... naah, im out

It’s gotten to a point where if you have Luka as number 3, no one but a Nuggets or OKC fan will honestly think you aren’t being disingenuous… even if you think you aren’t. Check yourself

Shai only genuine argument is that he’s won like 5 more games than him. OKC barely got hit with injuries meanwhile Dallas has dealt with them all season long. Luka has the better stats offensively and unless SGA is making an all defensive team, his defense isn’t so much better than Lukas to where it makes him mvp. It’s a 2 horse race between jokic and Luka. But jokic and Westbrook have set the standard of lower seeded players winning MVP is they produce insane stats while carrying their team which is what Luka has done all season long

Hey JJ, been a long time fan of the show since the beginning. I think the addition of these two has been great for a perspective closer to what us fans would have, but it comes with its downsides as well. I am really not understanding the refusal to give Luka his flowers this season. I would be less confused if shai and Luka were talked about evenly, but having Shai be over Luka still at this point for the MVP case is ridiculous. There is clear bias and lack of objectivity here.

Thumbnail shows luka but Jokic #1 on your MVP list. Put Jokic in the Thumbnail then? We know why they didnt

You know you're wrong when every single comment says you're wrong about Shai and Luka

Between Shai and Luka, only one of them is having a better season than 2016-17 MVP Russell Westbrook's, and it's not the one sharing the same laundry.

I really don't understand why you put Shai on 2 over Luka. Sigh, I thought it was JJs picks nvm

Everyone that doesn’t give Luka the MVP this years will be laugh at in the future. His season is historic and will be there to look at FOREVER.

SGA is no.2???Unsubscribing. They don't deserve to talk about basketball.

Luka > Shai

LOL SGA 2nd what a joke.

Not having wemby in your top 3 for dpoy is just ridiculous I hope you guys Don't have a vote for these.. wemby literally is San Antonio's defense 😂 the fact that winning is important to yall is fine but it's an individual award yall need to remember that

Damn Shai just having the yr Tatum had last yr but without ANY HISTORY of playoff success and somehow landed the 2 seed? He’s top 5 for sure but not 2

I get irritated when they talk about Shai being ahead of Luka because he has elevated his game and got better from 3, when Luka is better on all those aspects, #1 scorer in the league 3+ points ahead of the 2nd, plus a better playmaker by a mile and 2nd in assists in the NBA. Like these arguments you are making are in favor of Luka and still you put Shai ahead of him. Put some reasoning in what you are saying. Dont just put it out there because you just think so.

Pretty much what he said about Joker ... applies to Luka. Minus the second half slight slump.

All the preseason predictions had the thunder with a top 5 seed and the Mavs at 10-11. Who really exceeded expectations here?

Look at what Westbrook and Jokic did win they won it as 6th seeds. Luka clears them. He is the most disrespected/underrated MVP candidate in recent memory.

You are supposed to watch the games… Also the first half. Not just listening to the media. This Luka hate is disgusting.

Y’all need to relax in these comments like shai isn’t averaging 30 on a team that very well could be a 1 seed. Yeah luka has a great case too but they literally have him TOP 3 ON THEIR MVP BALLOT. It’s not like they’re dissing Luka. The dunker spot has been one of the best pods in the game for years. These guys watch more hoops in a month than you have in years. Show some damn respect.

I was gonna watch and then I saw the comments that said yall had Shai over Luka still. No one that actually watched games thinks that.

I think that its important to note that Luka didn't just make a late season push. He has been this consistent all year. A player doesn't average his numbers without that consistency. The mavs are making a late season push because their team fundamentally changed at the trade deadline, and injured players are now healthy. So I think its unfair to claim that Luka is making a late season push. He has been excellent all year, and the most dominant player in the league all season long. The argument you made for jokic is literally Luka's production all season.

Lol…. You’re not a serious unbiased analyst if you don’t have Luka at one or two. Plain and simple

Luka with most pts+rebs+assist since merger but yeah lets give it to Shai. Who is averaging the SAME stats as last year, check. The difference why they are winning alot this year is coz the team is better with Chet and an improved JDub. Kyrie also missed 22 games, Luka has been grinding all year.

It's been a fun season kicking it with y'all. Great stuff.

The saddest thing is that If Shai had Lukas stats and OKC would be the 5th seed he’d be unanimous MVP. I wonder how many MVPs Luka would have If he’d be from Iowa playing for the Lakers. Then I hear you guys talking how it’s not about narrative. In MVP narrative and bias opinions of media is everything. Mavericks were a 3rd seed after 15 games and Luka with his averages was 5th in the rankings.

i get jokic but shai over luka is insane

Not having Luka number 1 is a robbery. Joker is putting up great numbers but it’s not more impressive than Luka.. Shai shouldn’t even be in the conversation at this point.. Luka does everything better for the most part

Love how on twitter and in every comment section and most player podcasts we all think luka deserves MVP expect talking heads who still think grimes plays for the Knicks or shai is ahead of luka, like stop looking at advanced stats and just look at the counting stats each game

Reading the comments is funny but I totally agree these guys are wild for not having Luka at 2 at least. Usually when I see JJ isn’t here, I just exit the video anyway though.

Y'all trippin'

Literally EVERY single point they make for Shai applies to Luka as well, the issue is that they are unaware or don't wanna be aware of Luka's narrative compared to Shais. It's not even funny anymore. But what can I do, we have no vote here. I'm just gonna continue making money on bets, cuz when these guys drive wrong narratives I get better returns. I'm taking an L on Luka's MVP bet tho, didn't consider the media bias enough back in January

Jokic on the court Denver is +11.3, off the court Denver is -8.4 Luka on the court Dallas is +4.8, off the court Dallas is -2.5 Jokic on/off = 19.7 Luka on/off is 7.3

Thank you Steve!!! I love ypur take for most improved player. Thats how it used to be and i hate how the award has become. You guys are amazing 🧡

Genuine question - you say "Jokic just walks into 25 points, 12 rebounds, and 8 or 9 assists" (which are his averages). By that logic, don't you think Luka is also just "walking into" 34 points, 9 rebounds, and 10 assists" (which are his averages)?? Luka has more points and more assists, and sure, he has 3 fewer rebounds a game but he is a PG and Jokic is a center. You also say Jokic isn't always the "flashiest" - I hope you've seen even a few flashy Luka stuff because he gives you that stuff EVERY game. 73 point game, 50 point game on Christmas, multiple 35+ point triple doubles, insane clutch shots, improved defense, AND makes teammates around him better!! Don't get me wrong, Jokic is a great player; but Luka has had a FANTASTIC season and has literally broken so many records, it seems crazy to not give him the MVP this year.

Nikola Jokic is the MVP this year. Keeping your team at a championship level while being completely unselfish making everyone around you better. As well as being possibly the most talented scorer in the league

1a. Jokic 1b. Luka 3. 4. 5. Everyone else

I love what you 2 guys are doing. Keep it up 👍

Mavs went 26-22 to start the season and 22-8 in the last 30. So Luka’s 2nd half push is that his numbers have stayed consistent and now his team is winning at a super high rate.

17:34 big man on the left, everything he says here about Shai applies exactly to Luka but Shai had objectively more help and had it on a more consistent basis than Luka did. It's a fun debate and if SGA is ahead of Luka in your argument, that's fair. Just not sure this was the narrative to prove your point.

Not having Luka and Jokic in 1 and 2 simply says you did not watch the games OR just want a black guy to win it so that Jokic won’t win it for 3rd time or Luka who is DOMINATING the league irrespective of team won’t win it. Luka is the MVP or else you are doing disservice to the award itself. Period!

Jokic is the only player we can all accept winning the MVP over Luka.. Again, no disrespect to SGA he is great this season no doubt about it but Luka and Jokic are on a different level!!

The only thing this podcast still needs is a visual aspect of the lists/rankings as you do them and the stats you bring up are already great, but in a small graphic in context would be even better

Remember Mavs Play 🚨Okc the Last Games of the season. Luka & Mavs Gone make A Statement! 💯💯💯💯! Will SGA Play???? 😂 or rest?

Shai over Luka is insane, but I respect your opinion.

I’m tired of the “best player on the best team” argument for Tatum. He didn’t carry them to 60+ wins they just have the most stacked roster in the league.

The Last time i Listen to those two

Luka is the MVP. Media feal bad for last year and now is over the top on jokic

so glad i came to read the comments after he said shai at 2 over luka

Shai at 2 lmfaoooo 🥴🥴

You guys sound like you should have voted shai for most improved players not mvp over Luka

I’m tired of the JJ Redick channel not having JJ Redick

I think folks put too much emphasis on seeding when the difference in wins is minimal. To illustrate the Bucks are the #2 seed. They would be the #6 seed in the West. The Nuggets are 1 game ahead of OKC (not a big difference). Also Mavs are #5 not #6.

We need a hoops tonight x the dunkers spot episode

What a joke, will never watch this two again.

This is entertaining for the MVP of 2 players that probably won't win the Ship. I say let post season success be the deciding factor to whom wins.

If you look at the numbers, March was Lukas worst statistical month and it was incredible. Im not even a luka fan but watched him all season because he was on my fantasy team. Hes been consistent and the best player all year

Luka having such an historical individual season to me that as soon as they starting winning even a little bit he deserved it to me. If Russ gets it as a 6 seed , jokic wins back to back while winning less than 50 games. Luka had more historical statistical season than both while winning more games . I think voters and y’all be smoking something and not really be watching luka every night . Dude dropped 30 in the first half AGAIN , like WTF VOTE LUKA

What about Dunker of the year? I just want AG to get an award since he didn't make your all defensive teams

shai at 2 ?? my first hate comment goes to you guys congrats 👏

First you guys are very very good. Truly entertaining and in a short list of guys I listen to about the nba. But how does Lou Dort not get mentioned but Fred van Vleet does for all defense? 😮

Wow. I waited to see both of your MVP rankings before stopping the vid. Unbelievable to have Shai over Luka at this point. Luka's numbers are significantly better and the gap in record has been closed. Shai will likely lose in the first round, unless they get the Kings.

Why Wemby is your 2024 DPOY: - Leads the league in blocks (by far) - Leads the league in stocks (by far) - #2 in steals league-wise in February… - Spurs defense is elite (#5) with him on the floor. Could have been higher had he played center full season… - Spurs defense is DEAD LAST when he’s off the floor. Not only dead last but also historically bad defensively. Competing for the “worst defensive team ever” title when he’s off the court. - Only player with 10 blocks in a game this season. - Only player with back to back 5steals 5blocks games since MJ. - And the number of shots the opposing team does not take because he’s there is probably his biggest argument that does not show up in the stat sheet. - Opposing teams are setting high screens, double screens, re-screens, just to make sure he’s out of the paint… for a rookie… That’s how impactful he is. He is the DPOY and it’s not even close. By - @Peroriperora

lol Shai above Luka is WILD af.

I have Luka at 2, but in the grand scheme the only spot that actually matters is the MVP winner so it’s really not a big deal if they have SGA at the 2 spot. Nekias and Steve are some of the best analysts around the league, so everybody needs to chill on the hate, it’s not like anyone had Tatum at 2 or something. That being said I think that if you have SGA at 2 the gap between him and Jokic is larger than “slightly ahead.”