Charley Barkley announces his NBA MVP amid Nikola Jokic vs Shai Gilgeous-Alexander showdown

Charles Barkley isn’t exactly famous for getting his predictions right, but on Wednesday, as the OKC Thunder obliterated the Denver Nuggets in Game 2 of their Western Conference semifinal matchup, he picked Shai Gilgeous-Alexander over Nikola Jokic.

With SGA leading the charge, the Thunder raced to an 87-56 halftime lead. 87 is the most points ever scored in a half in NBA playoff history. Gilgeous-Alexander had 18 points and seven assists through the first 24 minutes.

During the “Inside the NBA” halftime show, Barkley declared Gilgeous-Alexander his MVP.

"This guy right here is the MVP,” he said. “We can already send it to him. We're gonna see him in the WCF when he get his MVP trophy. I think that team is going to win the championship."

In ESPN’s MVP straw poll, which replicates the actual voting process, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander emerged as the top choice in the final iteration, earning 77 first-place votes and 23 second-place votes for 931 points. Jokic collected all the remaining top and second-place nods, coming in second with 769 points.

The two are now clashing head-to-head in this playoff series.

Jokic exploded in Game 1 with 42 points and 22 rebounds, lifting Denver to a 121-119 win capped by an Aaron Gordon game-winning triple.

But in Game 2, it was SGA’s turn, dropping 34 points and eight assists, and recording a historic plus-51 rating — the highest ever in a playoff game — in just three quarters as OKC cruised to a 149-106 blowout.

Players pulling for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to win MVP, says James Harden

In April, NBA insider Rachel Nichols said she spoke with James Harden, who revealed that while players recognize Nikola Jokic as the best player, they’re rallying behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for MVP.

On the “Open Floor” podcast, Nichols said:

“I talked to James Harden for a little bit this morning before the Clippers left for Denver, and I said, who's the best player? And he said, ‘Well, no question, Jokic is the best player.’ But even he said, ‘All the players, we want to see Shai win MVP because of the season he had and the winning.’

“And I think that really factors in for them more than maybe some people on the outside are just looking at stats, stats, stats, stats, stats, see it, but he goes, but of course, Jokic is the best player.”

There’s still no word on when the MVP will be announced, but it could come during this high-stakes showdown between Jokic’s Nuggets and SGA’s Thunder.