Stephen A. Smith snubs Nikola Jokic on his 'Supermax' list

Nikola Jokic found himself left off outspoken analyst Stephen A. Smith's list of players who deserve supermax contracts this week. Of course, Jokic is gearing up for Game 1 of the NBA Finals, something every player on Smith's list is not doing right now.

In the midst of a series where Nikola Jokic has broken a longstanding record set by Hall of Famer Wilt Chamberlain, Smith has fielded quite a bit of criticism for the list. During a recent segment of First Take, Smith named Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Luka Doncic and Jayson Tatum as his top five.

Back in March, Smith went on record while speaking with Kendrick Perkins about the MVP debate, saying that he didn't want to hear any talk of Jokic being the front-runner. At the time, he stated that Joel Embiid deserved to be number one.

Coincidentally, Smith also left Embiid off his list of top five players worthy of a supermax deal. While Embiid was eliminated in the second round of the NBA playoffs, as the MVP, many believe he deserves a seat at the metaphorical table of best players in the league.

Denver Nuggets v Phoenix Suns - Game Six

What did Stephen A. Smith say about the Nikola Jokic vs. Joel Embiid MVP debate?

Back in March when the Joel Embiid vs. Nikola Jokic MVP debate was in full swing, Stephen A. Smith weighed in. The way he saw things, it should be Embiid as the front-runner. He said:

“I know Vegas is saying something different. I don’t want to hear anything about Jokic being the frontrunner for the MVP right now, the way Denver has tailed off. Joel Embiid … that man has got to be right up there, if not No. 1.”

At the same time, it's hard to ignore the fact that Luka Doncic also struggled late in the season. With Doncic heading into last year already in shape thanks to his impressive run with the Slovenian national team, many had high hopes for the Mavericks.

Unfortunately for the franchise, late in the season, he and Kyrie Irving came up short of making the playoffs, with Doncic citing problems off the court. Despite all of that, Stephen A. Smith still lists him in his top five.

2022 NBA All-Star Game

When it came to MVP voting, however, Tatum, Doncic, Curry and James all received no votes for MVP despite all but Doncic making the playoffs. In MVP voting, Nikola Jokic wound up in second place, slightly ahead of Giannis Antetokounmpo, who would go on to get eliminated in the first round of the playoffs.

Stay tuned for updates on whether or not Stephen A. Smith decides to amend his list, as well as how others like JJ Redick will likely react to his list.