Exclusive: Michael Coleman wants Jayson Tatum to win the NBA MVP award but believes Nikola Jokic will retain the trophy

Nikola Jokic and Jayson Tatum have been legitimate MVP contenders this season due to their statistics and how they’ve impacted winning for their respective teams. The Denver Nuggets and the Boston Celtics are the top seeds in the Western and Eastern Conferences because of the aforementioned superstars.

“The Joker” is the reigning back-to-back winner of the award, while Tatum hasn’t been this close yet to getting the honor. With roughly 20+ games remaining for all teams, the race is sure to heat up in the stretch run.

Speaking to Reggie Roberts on Sportskeeda's exclusive "BallFather" podcast, analyst Michael Coleman said:

“The [MVP] odds are [favoring] the Joker but I want Tatum to get it. I want Tatum to get it. If the All-Star game was any indication and in this last stretch in the NBA, hmmm. 55 [points].”

Jayson Tatum wowed the crowd with his All-Star game record of 55 points. He eclipsed Anthony Davis’ mark of 52 points in 2017. But there was hardly any defense in that game, which didn’t give that much weight to the incredible scoring output.

The Boston Celtics, though, have had the best record in the NBA for almost the entire season. Tatum is averaging 30.6 points, 8.7 rebounds and 4.6 assists, which are all career-high numbers. He was poor in last year’s NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors and has been on a mission to rectify that.

As impressive as Tatum’s numbers have been, Nikola Jokic is simply on a different level. Critics of the Serbian basketball star often dismiss his incredible skills as they are just too friendly with advanced metrics.

One can throw advanced metrics out the window and Jokic’s numbers are downright ridiculous. He is averaging 24.7 points, 11.6 rebounds, 10.2 assists and 1.3 steals. The Denver Nuggets (42-18), because of him, have a six-game lead over the Memphis Grizzlies (35-23) for the best record in the Western Conference.

Nikola Jokic’s mind-boggling season has allowed the Nuggets to catch the Boston Celtics (43-17) in the standings. Denver is just one game behind Jayson Tatum’s team for the best win-loss slate in the entire NBA.

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Nikola Jokic could win his third-straight MVP award

The Denver Nuggets took on the Cleveland Cavaliers in their first game after the All-Star break. Staring across Nikola Jokic during the game were Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen, the NBA’s best defensive frontcourt pairing.

Early in his career, the “Joker” used to have trouble against bigs with size, length and athleticism. Cleveland’s duo may not have the sheer size of a Joel Embiid, but they are very athletic and have elite length.

Nikola Jokic simply did what two-time MVPs do. He played 36 minutes and finished with 24 points, 18 rebounds, 13 assists and two steals. Jokic shot 8-13 from the field, including 2-2 from deep. For good measure, he went to the free-throw line six times and made all of his freebies.

Jayson Tatum has had some spectacular games, but what Jokic is doing to opponents is almost indescribable.

The reigning MVP has not shot below 50% in all but one of his 52 games this season. Considering all the attention he gets from the defense, his efficiency has been insanely great.

With all due respect to Jayson Tatum, the award might be Nikola Jokic's to lose with the way he has been playing.