Nikola Jokic Wins Back-to-Back NBA MVP Awards

According to all the relevant sources, media and NBA insiders, Nikola Jokic won the NBA MVP award. This will be his second in a row, and the Denver Nuggets’ center increased his legacy as one of the best big players in the league ever. The Joker revolutionized the center position by bringing a lot of innovations to the court and changed the perspective of the view on the center’s role in modern basketball. 

Jokic Carrying the Nuggets All by Himself

The Denver Nuggets were heavily handicapped this season, not having two of their star players, Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. That forced Jokic to play pretty much alone, providing unreal stats and pushing the Nuggets to the fifth seed in the Western Conference. 

He averaged 27.1 points, 13.8 boards and 7.9 assists with 1.5 steals, all that in 33.5 minutes on the court. His PER rating was by far the biggest in the NBA – 32.94, and the biggest in its history. The Joker became the first player in the league’s history to score 2,000 points and has 1,500 points and 500 assists. He was the first player to be in the top ten in points, boards, assists, and field-goal percentage over the previous 50 years. 

First 2000/1000/500 season ever.

First to average 25/13/6 in a season ever (he’s averaging 27/14/8).

First player in top 10 PPG, RPG, APG, FG% in last 50 seasons.

Highest PER ever.

A worthy MVP. pic.twitter.com/Me2ZLSoQuF

— StatMuse (@statmuse) May 9, 2022

Now, to remind everyone that the Nuggets were the only team in league with just one player in the team with more than 16 points per game. The closest to that limit was Aaron Gordon, who averaged 15 buckets each night, and even so, Denver was in the playoffs, where they lost to the Warriors in five games. 

Jokic’s quest up to this moment was, well let’s say, magical. Selected as the 41st pick at the 2016 NBA draft, while the commercials ran on the program, he turned out to be one of the greatest draft steals in the history of professional sports. Of course, Tom Brady is the No.1, and we are sure that no other player would come near the Buccaneers’ quarterback.

The Nuggets’ center was again in the finals with the 76ers’ center Joel Embiid and the Bucks’ superstar Giannis Antetokoumpo. This time, the race was much more dramatic because the majority of the analysts and the media predicted Embiid’s win. 

Giannis Top Favorite for the 2023 NBA Award, Jokic Fifth 

The bookmakers have already released the odds for the next season’s MVP winner, despite the fact that this one didn’t end. According to the majority of them, Giannis Antetokounmpo is the top candidate, with the odds at +400. Luka Doncic from the Mavericks is behind at +500, while Embiid, who lost in the previous two years to Jokic, is at +650.

Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic has been voted the NBA’s Most Valuable Player for a second consecutive season, sources tell ESPN. A formal announcement is expected this week.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) May 9, 2022

The Joker and Jayson Tatum have the same odds, both sitting at +700. Just to remind you, Jokic wasn’t among the top five favorites at the beginning of this season. 

Ja Morant is the new face on the list, and the NBA’s Most Improved Player this year is +1600, the same as Steph Curry, against whom he currently has fierce clashes in the Western Conference semifinals. That series is arguably the most interesting at the moment. 

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