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Denver Nuggets superstar center Nikola Jokic led the Nuggets to a 123-111 victory over the league-best Boston Celtics on Sunday night.
Jokic recorded his ninth triple-double of the season in the win, finishing with 30 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists on 10-for-13 (76.9%) shooting. His stellar performance also prompted Nuggets wing Bruce Brown to make his case for why Jokic should win his third straight MVP award.
“My MVP. Should be the league’s MVP… without Jok, I don’t know where we would be, to be honest,” Brown said after the game.
For the season, Jokic is averaging 25.7 points, 10.9 rebounds, 9.5 assists and 1.4 steals per game on 62.0% shooting. Those numbers alone are good enough for a player to win the MVP award in most seasons.
However, Jokic's advanced stats are what really further his MVP case.
With Jokic on the court, the Nuggets have a team-best net rating of +11.3. When he is on the bench, their net rating drops to a team-worst -13.7. This is the difference between Denver having the first and 30th best team net rating in the NBA.
Jokic single-handedly elevates the Nuggets from a bottom-feeder to the best team in the league in the minutes he is on the court.
At this point, the main argument against Jokic winning another MVP looks like it will be voter fatigue. The last player to win three straight MVPs was NBA legend Larry Bird from 1984 to 1986. So Jokic will likely have to keep putting up elite performances to win over voters again.
Outside of voter fatigue, the Nuggets’ team record will ultimately play a big factor in Jokic’s MVP chances. With their win over the Boston Celtics, the Nuggets improved to 24-12 and maintained their place atop the Western Conference.
Denver now just needs to remain near the top of the West for the rest of the season. If they can do so, Jokic’s MVP case may be undeniable.
Where does Nikola Jokic rank on the NBA's latest MVP ladder?
Many seem to be coming around to the idea that Nikola Jokic is once again the frontrunner to become MVP.
In NBA.com’s latest MVP ladder by Michael C. Wright, Jokic moved up to first place. He is now ahead of early-season front runners Jayson Tatum and Giannis Antetokounmpo. The reasoning behind Jokic’s ascension to the top of the tree had to do with him recording multiple 40-point games last week.
“‘The Joker’ notched his fourth 40-point game, and second in his last three outings as Denver’s five-game winning streak ended Wednesday night in Sacramento in the second game of a back-to-back set,” Wright said.
Wright added that Jokic’s consistent double-doubles combined with his frequent triple-doubles played a big factor in his ranking. Jokic has now led the Denver Nuggets in all but one of their wins so far, which is also a key factor.
“In 31 starts, Jokic has led Denver to 21 of its 22 wins, logging 24 double-doubles and seven triple-doubles to keep the Nuggets in a tie with the New Orleans Pelicans for first place in the West after Thursday’s slate of games,” Wright said.
There are obviously still a lot of games left to be played this season. However, for now, it looks like Nikola Jokic is in great shape to make history by taking home his third straight MVP.
