Nikola Jokic’s mere acknowledgment of a momentous season was an eye-opening development in the MVP race between him and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

The NBA's top-two MVP candidates—Nikola Jokic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander—faced off in back-to-back games between the Denver Nuggets and Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday and Monday. Jokic and Gilgeous-Alexander got to directly go up against each other, and each prove their merits for the award.

The MVP race was never going to be decided by two games in March, but if fans and voters hoped to come out of the Denver vs. Oklahoma City back-to-back with some clarity on whether Nikola Jokic or Shai Gilgeous-Alexander wins the award,