"Nobody's close": Shannon Sharpe bestows Nikola Jokic with ultimate honor amid MVP battle with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

The Denver Nuggets made a big statement on Monday and Nikola Jokic also made a huge one. Mike Malone's team just got back at the OKC Thunder after its recent loss, taking them down 140-127. The reigning NBA MVP made a strong case to win the award again this season, outplaying Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who is the other leading candidate to win it.

Former NFL star Shannon Sharpe tipped his hat to Jokic. On Tuesday's edition of ESPN's "First Take"' he claimed that even though Gilgeous-Alexander has been great this season, Jokic has been better.

"He's the best player in basketball," Sharpe said. "And nobody's close. As great as Shai's playing, Nikola Jokic is averaging 29, 13 and 11. He's about to average a triple-double for the season. And Shai, he's earned his MVP, but did you see what this man did last night? He was 15 of 20. 35, 18 and 8, after he just gave you two nights ago, 31, 21 and 22."

Jokic has led the Nuggets to the second-best record (42-23) in the Western Conference, despite a slow start to the season. They may not catch the Thunder (53-12) at the top, but Jokic's play has given him strong consideration for MVP.

Nikola Jokic breaks the silence on MVP race

Nikola Jokic is usually unfazed by individual glory or his milestones. He has openly admitted that some of them don't matter to him and he claimed that he didn't know where his first MVP trophy was.

However, when asked about this year's MVP race, he acknowledged that he should be near the top of the list.

“This is my third or fourth year in a row, so I can’t control it,” Jokic said on Monday, via SI. “I will say I think I’m playing the best basketball of my life, so if that’s enough, it’s enough. If not, the guy deserves it. He’s really amazing.”

Jokic is on pace to become the first center to average a triple-double in a season. He will also join Oscar Robertson and Russell Westbrook as the only players to pull off the feat.

He is already a first-ballot Hall of Famer and one of the most dominant players of his generation. If he keeps this up, it will likely take a lot for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to take the award from him.