After injury return, Nikola Jokic could still make NBA MVP race interesting

Just under four weeks ago, on an otherwise inconspicuous Friday, Nikola Jokic had a stat line that no other player in NBA history had ever accomplished.

31 points, 21 rebounds, 22 assists. A 30/20/20 game, the first of its kind. Jokic was once again breaking the game of basketball, and it appeared that the MVP Award was his to lose in the two-man race against Oklahoma City Thunder counterpart Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

Unfortunately, a nagging hamstring tightness finally caught up to him, and he was forced to take an injury hiatus after an ugly loss to the lowly Washington Wizards. As his teammates treaded water, trying to hold a top-three seed in the Western Conference as he recuperated, Gilgeous-Alexander continued to stack impressive games, averaging 29.8 points, 4.8 rebounds and 7.5 assists during the stretch Jokic missed. He is also leading the Thunder on a seven-game winning streak that has locked them into the No. 1 seed in the West with 10 games remaining.

With the dominance that Jokic has incurred upon the MVP Award, having won three of the last four, voter fatigue plays a part in the decision as well, whether it should or not. All of this adds up to a difficult race to get back into for him. Coming back from injury, he will have to have a monstrous final stretch to sway any votes back his way.

If Wednesday night’s return is any indication, Jokic is more than capable of putting together such a stretch. Against an admittedly-hobbled Milwaukee Bucks team, Jokic put on an offensive clinic in a way only he can. He ended the night with yet another triple double, posting 39 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. It included yet another dazzling display of his passing ability, with a no-look, behind-the-back flick to Aaron Gordon drawing oohs and ahs.