Malone deletes Luft-Jokic, not Gilgeous-Alexander, my MVP election

Former Nuggets coach Michael Malone pulled more than a few eyebrows with his high praise from Oklahoma City Thunder Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander at the beginning of this week, but he wanted to set up the record on Thursday evening with the city of Denver.

Nikola Jokic, not Gilgeous-Alexander, was his choice for MVP this season.

“I voted for him again this year when I had a vote,” said Malone, who appeared as a guest analyst at ESPN before game 2 between The Thunder and The Minnesota Timberwolves, said about Jokic, his long -time former star. “I would like to make sure that people know in Denver that I get a lot of heat at home at the moment.”

Malone's statements came shortly after Gilgeous-Alexander received the MVP trophy of the league of Commissioner Adam Silver in a pregame ceremony in the Paycom Center. Gilgeous-Alexander was announced as a winner on Wednesday, with Jokic finished second.

Malone, who was fired by Denver days before the end of the regular season after a 10-year-old run as head coach, showed the anger of the Nugget fans on Tuesday evening when he said Gilgeous-Aalexander “showed why he is” in his 31-point performance in the dominant game of Thunder play 1 against the Wolzen.

The praise was interpreted by some as a subtle shot on Jokic and the Nuggets to Malone's surprise shot.

Jokic, a three-time MVP, helped to lead the nuggets into the second round of the playoffs, where they were eliminated in seven games by Gilgeous-Alexander and The Thunder.

Malone works on the “NBA Countdown” shows “NBA Countdown” and halftime studio during the Western Conference final. He was not part of the global media committee of 100 voters who decided the MVP.