Colorado’s Travis Hunter completes historic feat involving Nikola Jokic, Nathan MacKinnon

In what turned out to be the closest Heisman Trophy race in fifteen years, Colorado Buffaloes two-way star Travis Hunter edged out Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty to win the most prestigious award in college sports on Saturday night, capping off a tremendous junior season that will likely catapult Hunter to NFL stardom.

Hunter’s Heisman win makes him the first defensive player to win the award since Charles Woodson in 1997, and the first Colorado Buffalo to earn the honor since Rashaan Salaam rushed to the award in 1994. Additionally, thanks to Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic and Colorado Avalanche centre (notice the spelling difference) Nathan MacKinnon, Hunter is now part of a piece of some unique Centennial State history.

According to OptaSTATS:

“2024 is the first year in which the winners of the Heisman Trophy (Travis Hunter), NBA MVP (Nikola Jokic) and NHL MVP (Nathan MacKinnon) all played for teams in the same state.”

For Nikola Jokic, taking home the NBA MVP award is old news, as The Joker is one of just nine players in league history to win the award three or more times. For Nathan MacKinnon, it was the first time that one of this generation’s most talented players was given the hardware to prove it.

Although the winners of the Heisman Trophy, NBA MVP and NHL MVP have never come from the same state prior to this season, there has been one other instance this century where four major award winners played in the same state. In 2002, the NFL MVP (Rich Gannon), MLB AL and NL MVP’s (Barry Bonds and Miguel Tejada), and Heisman Trophy winner (Carson Palmer) all played in the state of California. Los Angeles Lakers center Shaquille O’Neal finished third in the NBA MVP voting.

Next up for Travis Hunter will be an appearance in Alamo Bowl against the BYU Cougars. For both Hunter and Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders, it will be their final college game before they both head to the NFL Draft, where they’ll each be in play for the No. 1 overall pick.