Ice Cube’s son, O’Shea Jackson Jr., was not happy with any of the anti-MVP talk being spread by people like Rachel Nichols about Luka Doncic. Nichols caused a bit of a stir this week when she admitted that she would not be voting for the Lakers star as the league’s MVP this season.
“Is he the top contender for MVP right now? No, he is not. Is the reason because you do have to play both sides of the ball for all eight months of the season? Yes, it is,” Nichols said on Open Floor: SI Now.
“I mean, he has definitely been improving,” Nichols continued. “I am the loudest voice that Luka is not the defensive liability that people think he is once he gets to the playoffs. He cares differently; he plays differently. He does not play that way in January, I’m sorry. And it is a full-season award, and it is for both sides of the ball. So, am I going to vote him my number one for MVP? No. Is he going to be on my ballot? Absolutely.”
O’Shea Jackson Jr. was among many NBA fans who didn’t agree with Rachel Nichols
Noted Lakers fan O’Shea Jackson Jr. apparently saw those comments and fired back at any talk that Luka Doncic hasn’t earned the NBA MVP Award this season.
“The man completely changed his body and lifestyle,” he wrote on X. “Playing while his family is tearing apart. Putting up numbers we ain’t seen since Kobe and Mike. Over 100 steals. Climbed us into 3rd place. The story is amazing. But alas the goal post is not the same for a Laker. 2020 mvp and dpoy are still the most bull s— blatant robberies in my eyes.”
For the record, Luka Doncic is averaging 33.8 points, 7.8 rebounds, 8.3 assists, 1.7 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game this year. Over the past five games, he is averaging 38.2 points, 6.2 rebounds and 7.2 assists. The Lakers have gone 4-1 in those games and now sit in third place in the Western Conference with a record of 50-26.
When asked earlier this week why he seems to be falling down the list of potential MVP candidates, Luka Doncic replied, “The better I play, the more I drop in the ratings. So I don’t know what else I can do.”
Rachel Nichols would later try to defend her view that Doncic is not the league’s MVP this year
“1) I still think Luka’s in the conversation and in fact have him ranked higher on my current MVP ballot than the majority of my peers (including my co-host),” she wrote on X after the uproar. “In fact, I have him ranked higher on my current ballot than the NBA’s own website does on theirs.
“2) as I said on our most recent pod, I think Luka’s defense is annually underrated in the playoffs. Preseason, I also picked the Lakers to finish at No. 3 in the West because of the sheer force of Luka, a take that was not exactly the most popular at the time.
“3) As I’ve said for YEARS, MVP voting can be frustrating because the criteria is so broad that what gets a guy elected one year wouldn’t get him elected another year. I’ve lobbied for a long time for the NBA to overhaul it’s award system the way, say, the NFL has.
“4) Fan bases can get crazy sometimes over players they love, and I actually really dig that. Passion is what makes sports fun.”