Kenny Smith Suggesting Luka Doncic Isn't A 1st Team All NBA Player This Season Is Further Proof The NBA Media Can't Stop Being Weird

Tim Warner. Getty Images.

Yesterday, I blogged about how Jokic felt the MVP conversation was getting out of control and how weird it is that we're still doing the tired act of trying to deny that Jokic is not only a worthy candidate, but he's a more than worthy winner. Instead, you can turn on ESPN and here about how him winning another MVP would be bad for the NBA

OK, so you ignore something like this because who gives a shit about Kevin Hart and Cedric the Entertainer. Fine. But the thing is, this isn't only a Jokic problem and it isn't only a weird ESPN alternative broadcast problem.

Enter Luka Doncic. Another MVP candidate who is having a truly historic season for a team that has won at least 50 games. Generally, when you accomplish something like that, you're talked about in a certain way. MVP, 1st team All NBA, future of the league etc. Hell, the Mavs have won 16 of 18 to close out their season, mainly because of one guy. And yet what's the discourse around Luka's season?

First, he somehow dropped a spot in the MVP rankings, despite SGA being out and Luka being on an incredible run

The reasoning given was the fact that despite the success and Luka's insane production, he dropped because he plays next to a HOFer in Kyrie compared to a guy who sat out a bunch of games (???????????). That logic alone makes no sense, but any objective observer can admit that Luka has elevated himself to no lower than the 2nd spot in this race. 

If that wasn't bad enough, it gets worse. This time it didn't come from a celebrity on an alternative broadcast, but from the TNT crew themselves

Alright, come the fuck on. What are we doing here???

I am most certainly not a Luka Doncic stan, but I am a stan of the truth. There is zero argument to be made that Luka Doncic is not a 1st Team All NBA lock let alone that Anthony Edwards should make it ahead of him. This isn't to say Ant didn't have an awesome season for a Wolves team that will finish top 3 in the West. He deserves his flowers for that, which is why there are multiple All NBA teams. 

But to suggest that a player who is having a historic season while winning 50 games and is no lower than 2 or 3 in the MVP race isn't a 1st Team All NBA player is such a weird level of disrespect I don't even really know how to comprehend it. What is with the basketball media bending over backward to try and invalidate or discredit what both Jokic and Luka are doing? It's beyond bizarre. 

So bizarre, I don't even think Wolves fans would say this! 

It's annoying when this stuff happens because it forces you to sort of shit on a guy who had an awesome season (Ant) all because these analysts who are supposed to be watching and know the game keep saying outlandish shit. Either A) you're not actually watching B) You don't even look at the production despite not watching C) You just blindly hate the guy. That's really all this boils down to.

Is it all just because these guys are European or some shit? Who cares! Why does that matter at all? We all have eyes, those of us who actually watch all these games know what we see, so that's what makes takes like this so confusing and I'm sure infuriating as a Mavs or Nuggets fan. Just stop being weird when it comes to these two players, why is that so hard?

Then again, maybe Kenny just hasn't seen much of Luka this season. I'm not sure how that's possible, but it's really the only explanation for a take like that. Because I'm not sure how anyone could watch this

see the historic production and team success 

and come to the conclusion that despite being a top MVP candidate, that player is not deserving of a 1st team All NBA spot. Make that shit make any lick of sense.