Anthony Edwards delivers emphatic choice ahead of Nikola Jokic in MVP race – Source: Imagn

Minnesota Timberwolves Anthony Edwards is well known for rooting for himself. Not this time, as he picked a rival for the MVP award. On Wednesday, Edwards picked OKC Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ahead of Denver Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic for the league’s MVP.

The former first-overall draft pick admired the Thunder guard for the way he scores easily and how he’s difficult to guard.

“The MVP of the NBA. To me, he’s unguardable. As far as any one-on-one matchup, yeah, you can go on and give it up. Just give him two points most of the time,” Edwards said via ESPN. “So I think you got to trap him. Maybe that don’t work, but you got to try it.

“For sure you got to send a second body, especially if he got a favorable matchup. Anytime he got somebody that he knows can’t guard him, ah, he going to score every time.”

Anthony Edwards faced SGA on Tuesday. The latter led the Thunders to a 113-105 home win with a game-high 40 points, three rebounds and two assists.

The month of December has been a memorable one for SGA. Apart from the shocking loss against the Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA Cup finals, he led the Thunder to a 12-1 record while averaging 33.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 2.3 steals per game.

Anthony Edwards’ praise flatters Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

When informed about Anthony Edwards fronting him in the MVP race, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander felt good about being recognized by his fellow professional despite their on-court rivalry.

“No offense to you guys in the media, but the best satisfaction is when your peers and the guys that do the same thing for a living at a very high level that you do recognize and respect your craft and your talent,” Gilgeous-Alexander said.

“That’s a really good feeling. Obviously the caliber player he is, the sky’s the limit. Hard-fought battle tonight.”

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) dribbles the ball past Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5) – Source: Imagn

Shai’s odds of being MVP increased to +125, putting him ahead of Nikola Jokic at +135. The Joker has been the favorite throughout the season, but recent efforts by SGA and the OKC Thunder have propelled him to the top slot.