Rachel Nichols

I mean, look, I leaned Cade Cunningham over that fifth spot for All-NBA.

He was the engine of the team.

And I know Jalen Brown had a tremendous year with the Boston Celtics, rightfully on my second team.

And if Luka weren't eligible, he would have been on first team.

He would have been top five MVP.

But Cade was the engine of that team on top of being an elite defensive player as well as part of a great Pistons two-way team.

So I lean Cade over Jalen Brown, but ultimately either of those guys are both deserving.

Yeah, it's good that they'll both get the recognition on all NBA teams.

So my guess is Shea is going to win this and you will be in a minority.

We'll see how big of a minority.

As someone who voted for Victor Wembanyama, he got a first place MVP vote from you.

What was your rationale?

Victor Wemenyama is the best defender since Bill Russell.

I mean, you said it earlier, the difference between him and the second best defender in the league is massive.

And so I think defense matters in this conversation as well.

Jokic didn't win his first MVP until he became a good defensive player.

player.

Tim Duncan won MVP over Shaq in the early 2000s because of the defensive edge.

Michael Jordan won MVP in 1988 over Magic Johnson and Larry Bird because he was also the defensive player of the year that year.

So this has been a thing for decades.