Fans Had Plenty of Jokes About Michael Malone Calling Shai Gilgeous-Alexander MVP

Former Denver Nuggets coach Michael Malone, who the team let go with three games left in the regular season, joined ESPN's coverage team for the Western Conference finals.

After the Oklahoma City Thunder's 114-88 Game 1 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves Tuesday night, Malone made an interesting comment about the league's MVP race, considering he coached a top candidate, Nikola Jokic, just over a month ago. Thunder superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the likely lead MVP candidate, dropped 31 points and dished nine assists on the night.

Following the game, Malone said Gilgeous-Alexander "showed why he's the MVP" as he analyzed the game on SportsCenter.

“Shai Gilgeous-Alexander showed why he’s the MVP.”

— Michael Malone

pic.twitter.com/Jvml7ilOvr
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) May 21, 2025

Gilgeous-Alexander's main competitor for the award is Nuggets star and three-time NBA MVP in Jokic. While Malone was likely only tipping his cap to Gilgeous-Alexander for his strong performance to start the series, the basketball world couldn't help but pick apart the former Denver coach's choice of words.

There's no other way to hear this but as a shot at Jokic. https://t.co/QEwOnfYHnp
— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) May 21, 2025

Breakups get weird https://t.co/YFRpJ2BTHI
— Vic Lombardi (@VicLombardi) May 21, 2025

This doesn't really strike me as a shot at Jokic, to be quite honest. Just using buzzwords. https://t.co/L2sGFREhtM
— Ryan Blackburn (@NBABlackburn) May 21, 2025

He said this just 2 months ago lmao pic.twitter.com/k6AEY80LcJ https://t.co/13CQkcZTel
— 🌨️ (@NotLikeRuss) May 21, 2025

https://t.co/UmTEa5m3cw pic.twitter.com/Qx42Qko9ga
— Thunder Film Room (@ThunderFilmRoom) May 21, 2025

Michael Malone in March on Nikola Jokic, based on his stats this year: "He wins the MVP 10 times out of 10. And if you don't think so, you guys are all full of (bleep)."

Michael Malone tonight on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: "Showed why he’s the MVP."

I wonder what changed.
— Tim Reynolds (@ByTimReynolds) May 21, 2025

Mike Malone on ESPN saying Shai showed tonight why “he’s the MVP” pic.twitter.com/JLmyATXVtI
— ♕𝕕𝕒𝕧𝕠𓅓 (@shpillo_) May 21, 2025

Malone just said ”SGA’s shown why he’s the MVP.” pic.twitter.com/ggj731uhVl
— will jones ⚒️ (@Will_d_jones) May 21, 2025

Michael Malone going viral on his first night at ESPN was on my bingo card, actually
— will barton union leader (@chillducey) May 21, 2025

Over the regular season, Gilgeous-Alexander averaged a league-leading 32.7 points. He averaged 6.4 assists each contest, too. Jokic averaged a triple-double over the regular season for the first time in his 10-year career, with 29.6 points, 12.7 rebounds and 10.2 assists per game.

Gilgeous-Alexander now prepares for Game 2 against the Thunder at home Thursday with a 1-0 series lead in the Western Conference finals.