Nikola Jokic making strong case for third-straight MVP award

Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets has quickly become one of the best basketball players in the world. He looks unassuming, but when he gets the ball in his hands, what he produces is truly magical. That production has not gone unnoticed, as Jokic has been recognized as the NBA’s MVP in back-to-back seasons.

There have been 67 MVP awards handed out and Jokic is one of only three players to win the award while playing for a team that failed to reach 50 victories in a season; Moses Malone did it twice and Russell Westbrook did it once.

Jokic winning back-to-back awards is the 14th instance that has occurred in NBA history. Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Malone, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Tim Duncan, Steve Nash, LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Giannis Antetokounmpo are the other players to win the award in consecutive years. James accomplished that feat twice.

Could Jokic join an even more prestigious group this season? Only Russell, Chamberlain and Bird have won the award in three consecutive seasons, but it is something that Jokic is putting himself in a great position to achieve.

In the recent Kia MVP Ladder on NBA.com, Jokic has made a big move up the rankings. It is hard to fault Michael C. Wright for feeling that way as the Serbian big man is putting together another impressive season.

“'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. Playing without Jamal Murray, Bruce Brown, Aaron Gordon and Jeff Green, the Nuggets ran off a 19-point lead that evaporated down the stretch, resulting in the team suffering its first loss of the season when it shot better than 57% from the floor. 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.”

On the season, Jokic is averaging 25.6 points, 10.8 rebounds, 9.5 assists, 1.4 steals and 0.6 blocks per game. If he can manage to average a triple-double for the season, a strong argument could be made that he deserves the award for a third time despite voter fatigue possibly setting in for some people.

In addition to his personal production, the Nuggets are winning games at a high clip. Denver is currently atop the Western Conference with a 24-13 record. Only the Boston Celtics and Brooklyn Nets currently have a higher winning percentage. Putting up eye-popping stats and the team achieving plenty of success is a recipe for another MVP award for The Joker.