This year's NBA MVP race is unique in both its evenness and toxicity. Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid and Giannis Antetokounmpo are all playing nearly flawless basketball in their own unique ways. Accordingly, their stans are losing their mind as MVP lobbying season kicks into gear. For the last several weeks, the horserace between the Nuggets, Sixers and Bucks stars has dominated the NBA discourse and turned Kendrick Perkins into a bubbling cauldron of Jokic-related hot take. But amidst all that chaos, there's a voice of reason and it is Pelicans star CJ McCollum.
“The way Jokic controls the game,” McCollum said to ESPN's Zach Lowe on the newest episode of the CJ McCollum Show as he discussed the hyper-competitive MVP race, “it's unlike anything you've ever seen. He's taking six shots through most of the game and still dominating. That shows value to me… He's super skilled, super talented, and he makes them go. What does that team look like without him?”
McCollum is hardly alone in his high estimation of the Serbian center. Entering the NBA season's stretch run, Jokic is the frontrunner to take home the award, having lifted the Nuggets to the top seed in the Western Conference. On FanDuel, Jokic is the overwhelming favorite to take home the hardware at -360. Similarly, Jokic earned 77 of 100 first place votes in last month's edition of the ESPN straw poll of MVP voters.
Statistically, Nikola Jokic has married productivity and efficiency to a historic degree. Averaging 24.3 points, 11.8 rebounds and 10.0 assists, Jokic would be just the third player ever to average a triple-double. To wit, his 10 assists would set a new record for most assists per game by a center. And despite accusations of stat-padding, Jokic comes upon his stats organically. He leads the league in just about every catchall on/off metric and maintains an NBA-best 70% True Shooting.
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