The Denver Nuggets' Nikola Jokic is doing things that this league has never seen before. People prefer to belittle what he's accomplishing for whatever reason, claiming that he's not nearly as skilled as Giannis Antetokounmpo and Joel Embiid, who are likely his two biggest MVP contenders.
Regardless of whether or not people like to say things like that, there's no denying the sort of effort that Nikola Jokic has put in for the Nuggets this season. He's a fantastic basketball player, and we've never seen someone like him in the NBA. He's currently averaging 26 points per game, 13.8 rebounds, and 7.9 assists per game. He's also been playing some of the best defense of his career, as he's just been doing all he can to help his team win.
Jokic was the league's MVP last season, and he had identical stats this season. Last season, he scored 26.4 points per game while also collecting 10.8 rebounds and dishing out 8.3 assists. There isn't much of a difference between this year and his MVP season, therefore, there shouldn't be much of a debate over whether he has the stats to win this year.
Given that he has had to play without Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr for the whole season, it would make even more sense if he won this award this year.
Let's look at three reasons why Nikola Jokic deserves to win the MVP award and why he was the league's MVP before the All-Star break.
Winning the MVP is never easy. There's a lot of bias that goes into voting at times and no one really knows what exactly voters are looking for. This year in particular is going to be very interesting considering teams that have MVP-caliber players haven't exactly been killing it in the standings. It's going to be tough for a few guys to win this MVP award, and how they perform down the stretch is undoubtedly going to be the deciding factor on if they win the award. As we have seen in the past, there have obviously been some snubs in terms of guys who should have won the award who didn't, so anything is really possible. This is also a season where you can probably make an argument that five or so guys do have a legit chance at winning the award.
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Nikola Jokic MVP
3. Leading the league in most advanced stats
Although many people aren't huge advanced stats folks, you can't refute Nikola Jokic's advanced stats. When he's on the court, his team looks like one of the best in the NBA, but when he's not, they look like one of the worst teams ever. When you look at his advanced numbers, you can see some of the stuff he does on the court, and it really puts into perspective just how skilled this guy is.
Advanced statistics may not be something that voters consider when selecting who will receive the MVP, but they should. Even if they don't look at advanced metrics, his stats are better or on par with every other MVP candidate.
1. Has a playoff berth despite the absence of his two best teammates
Despite not having Michael Porter Jr. and Jamal Murray for most of the season, Nikola Jokic has still managed to go eight games over .500 coming into the All-Star break with the sixth seed in the Western Conference, which is a key reason why he should get the votes. Porter and Murray are anticipated to return shortly, but that doesn't diminish what he has accomplished without them on the floor.
The voters must recognize that Jokic receives the least amount of assistance of any other MVP contender in the league, which is why they must vote for him. It would be unjust to not vote for him, given everything he has gone through this year and how he has continued to create while having to deal with several difficulties.
1. His teammates are mediocre at best
The fact that Nikola Jokic has been playing alongside players who aren't top NBA players is the primary reason why he needs to be the MVP.
Obviously, there are a few serviceable professionals on the Denver Nuggets roster, but many of their bench and other players are just not NBA-caliber players. If it weren't for a couple of their injuries this year, a number of them would probably be in the G League or out of the league, and that has to be a huge thing for the voters.
Not only has he had below-average teammates for most of the season, but his team is currently in the playoffs.
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