The NBA has yet to make it official, but Nikola Jokic is reportedly the 2021-22 Kia NBA MVP. With that, the Denver Nuggets superstar is poised to win the Maurice Podoloff Trophy for the second straight year. That also makes him just the 13th player in NBA history to win back-to-back MVP awards.

Jokic edged Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid and Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, who both joined the Serbian as the three finalists for the said trophy. There was a good contingent of fans and voters who believe Embiid should nab his first MVP award for his dominant season, leading the entire NBA in scoring. Meanwhile, some believe Antetokounmpo deserves his third MVP in four years for once again putting up insane numbers on both ends of the floor.

The two other finalists definitely had their respective cases. Nonetheless, it seems like Jokic won the hearts of the voters once again.  Here are three reasons why Nikola Jokic is the deserving winner of the 2021-22 NBA MVP over Joel Embiid and Giannis Antetokounmpo.

3 reasons Nikola Jokic deserved MVP award

1. He had better overall numbers

Jokic's numbers this season were slightly better than their 2020-21 counterparts. His scoring went slightly up from 26.4 points to 27.1 points, while his rebounding rose by to 13.8 boards from 10.8. The Serbian's efficiency from the field improved as his field goal shooting went up from 56.6 percent to 58.3 percent. While his 3-point shooting dropped to 33.7 percent, he shot a career-best 65.2 percent from inside the arc.

While Embiid and Antetokounmpo finished as the top two scorers of the league this season, Jokic still had better numbers across the board. He had the edge in rebounding and assists and was more effective from the field with a true shooting percentage of 66.1 percent (as opposed to Embiid's 61.6 percent and Antetokounmpo's 63.3 percent). What makes this more insane is that Jokic is doing this with everything in the Denver offense going through him. On the season, he had a high usage rate of 31.9.

Jokic also made NBA history, becoming the first player to ever notch at least 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds, and 500 assists in a single season.

2. He led Denver to near-identical records as the Sixers and Bucks with less help 

Preseason projections didn't really have the Nuggets making an outright playoff berth, considering Jamal Murray was already projected to miss the entire year because of a torn ACL. Nine games into the campaign, Michael Porter Jr. went down with a back injury, essentially leaving Jokic without his two co-stars.

Despite this, the soon-to-be two-time MVP still led Denver to a 48-34 record in the regular season and the no. 6 seed in the loaded Western Conference. That's just three games behind the Sixers and the Bucks, which both finished with identical 51-31 records on the season. Nearly all teams dealt with COVID and injuries throughout the season, but the Nuggets didn't have two of their three max stars, which makes Jokic's accomplishment of leading them to the 6th seed more impressive.

3. His value to Denver is much greater

While the same can be said for Joel Embiid and Giannis Antetokounmpo in terms of their impact for their respective squads, Nikola Jokic's value to Denver is just much greater.

Without Jokic, the Nuggets would become bottom dwellers in the NBA. They went 2-6 without the reigning MVP this season. His on-off numbers suggest this as well. Per Cleaning The Glass, the Nuggets had an efficiency differential of +9.0 with Jokic on the floor. That is 19.5 points per 100 possession better than when he is on the bench.

The Sixers are 6-8 without Embiid. They are +7.9 with Embiid on the court, which is 11.3 points per 100 possessions better than when he is off the floor. Milwaukee, on the one hand, is 6-9 without The Greek Freak. The defending champs were +8.1 points with Antetokounmpo on the floor, which is 10.8 points per 100 possessions better when he is resting on the sidelines.

Philly is a 60-win team with Embiid on the floor, but drop 27 wins when he sits on the sidelines. The Bucks also become a 60-win team whenever the Greek Freak is wrecking havoc on the court. However, they drop to a 34-win squad with Giannis resting on the bench.

Denver plays like a 62-win team whenever Jokic is on the floor, and drops to an 18-win squad when he sits. That's an insane 44-win drop when the Nuggets superstar is on the bench. It doesn't take rocket science easy to see just how much more Jokic means to the Nuggets. That's why he deserves to win MVP for the second straight season.