Arenas: Everyone on a weak team can put up good stats

Recently, former NBA player Gilbert Arenas shared his thoughts on Denver Nuggets player Nikola Jokić during his podcast The Gil's Arena Show, expressing his belief that Jokić’s stats are “empty numbers” and that he does not support him winning the MVP award.

When asked about his opinion on Jokić as an MVP candidate, Arenas said:

“When Jordan had a historic season, averaging 37 points, he didn’t come close to winning MVP. The same goes for Kobe.”

“Anyone on a bad team can put up good numbers, but over the past 30 years, people haven’t been rewarded for individual performances. We see it every year—some players put up great stats on terrible teams. What’s that called again? Empty stats. Why would we reward empty stats when they’re losing? That just doesn’t make sense.”

As of now, the Nuggets are 13-10, sitting sixth in the Western Conference. Jokić, however, has been playing exceptionally well, averaging 31.5 points, 13.3 rebounds, and 9.8 assists per game, and he continues to lead the recent MVP rankings.