When Oklahoma City Thunder guard Isaiah Joe went through a brief slump, All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander knew the turnaround was inevitable. Gilgeous-Alexander said Joe was ‘too good’ to stay in a slump for long after scoring a season-high 31 points in a 126-101 victory against the New York Knicks.

Shai is a wondrous talent, but playing alongside a veteran scorer would make life much easier for him in the playoffs.

In mid-December, Denver’s Nikola Jokic had a healthy lead on Gilgeous-Alexander in ESPN’s MVP straw poll, conducted several times over the course of each season by Tim Bontemps.