Late movement in NBA MVP projections forecasts a shocking result

Two-time NBA MVP and Denver Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic appears to be on the inside track to earning the distinction for a third time in four seasons and has been the consensus favorite for much of the year. But it may not be a foregone conclusion like many have speculated based on what the league's updated award tracker is telling us.

As of Apr. 15, the NBA has Oklahoma City Thunder floor general Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ranked as the No. 1 player on their MVP rankings, only one day after he led his team to a 135-86 blowout victory over the Dallas Mavericks to secure the top seed in the Western Conference.

NBA Award Tracker projects Thunder G Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to win MVP

The NBA Award Tracker intends to increase "transparency and visibility into the NBA award races." Moreover, the rankings are "aggregates of the league's top metrics and predictions to provide fans a more accurate look at who is leading each award race," per the official website. Gilgeous-Alexander is now projected to win the most prestigious individual honor someone in the Association can achieve.

Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 30.1 points, 6.2 assists, 5.5 rebounds, and 2.0 steals per contest across 75 games in the regular season with .535/.353/.874 shooting splits en route to guiding the Thunder to first place in the West, making him a worthy candidate for MVP.

However, the odds of sportsbooks like bet365, FanDuel, and DraftKings, among others, suggest Jokic is still heavily favored to win the award despite the NBA's recent projection saying it will be Gilgeous-Alexander.

Regardless, both Gilgeous-Alexander and Jokic are deserving, and it will be intriguing to see how the voting process plays out. 

Mavericks guard Luka Doncic rounds out the top three MVP candidates based on the NBA's most up-to-date prediction. But he seems to be a distant third in the race despite nearly and casually averaging a 35-point triple-double and willing Dallas to a 50-32 record.