MVP favorite Nikola Jokic lacks the hardware that really matters

Hall of Famers Larry Bird, Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain are the only players in NBA history to win three consecutive MVP awards. Nikola Jokic, the Denver Nuggets' triple-double machine, could be the fourth.

Jokic, whose team (42-18) is first in the Western Conference, is the MVP favorite across all sportsbooks, including OddsChecker. He has played phenomenally all season, but Jokic doesn't belong on the same stage with Bird, Russell and Chamberlain.

By the time those icons had earned their third MVP, each had won at least one NBA title. "The Joker" has yet to appear in the NBA Finals, let alone win one.

On "First Take," Stephen A. Smith said, "[for Jokic] to be a three-time back-to-back-to-back MVP and to not have even a championship appearance, let alone a title to show for it, is going to be glaring, especially this year."

In his only conference final, against the Lakers in the COVID bubble in Orlando in 2020, he shrank in the spotlight against Anthony Davis. In that series, he averaged 21.8 points, 7.2 boards and five assists. 

This season, Jokic averages 24.7 points, 11.6 rebounds and 10.2 assists on a 70.4 true-shooting clip. He leads the NBA in plus/minus at +545. His stats are remarkable, numbers we've never seen from a center.

LeBron James could've easily won three straight MVPs, but voter fatigue prevented that. From the 2008-09 to 2012-13 seasons, he won the award four times, with Derrick Rose interrupting the streak. The same can be said with Milwaukee's Giannis Antetokounmpo. 

Kobe Bryant should have won more than one MVP. Yet somehow, voter fatigue doesn't set in with Jokic. 

Why? 

At the end of the day, Jokic's numbers and his team's standing in the Western Conference don't lie. Without an injury or a standing/numerical freefall, it will be tough for someone else to take the award this season. 

But is Jokic one of the 12 greatest players ever? He's most certainly not.