Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets is making headlines again in the NBA in 2022-2023. He has Denver as one of the best teams in the NBA and one of the best teams in the Western Conference. Jokic continues to silence the game’s skeptics in and out.
During Christmas Day, he scored 41 points, grabbed 15 rebounds, and recorded 15 assists in a 128-125 overtime win over the Phoenix Suns. For the center, that’s big stuff because it’s rare for them to do things like that by scoring triple-doubles. I think he can win it again this season. Is Nikola Jokic on course to win the Player of the Year award for the third season in a row?
Statistics say so
Nikola Jokic has better stats than in the first two seasons of his NBA MVP campaigns. Currently, he averages 25.4 PPG, 11.0 RPG and 9.4 APG. Jokic averages nearly three times a game, which is very difficult in the NBA. If he averages triples like 26.2 PPG, 12.3 RPG, and 10.3 APG, for example, by the end of the year, Nikola Jokic should win the NBA MVP award for the third straight season.
It would be a shame for someone else to win the prize if they averaged three times and didn’t win it. It’s rare for someone in a season to average it. When Russell Westbrook won the NBA Most Valuable Player Award in 2016-2017, he averaged triple-doubles this season with the Oklahoma City Thunder and led them to the sixth seed in the Western Conference.
There should be no double standards when it comes to Nikola Jokic. Yes, he’s won two NBA MVP awards in a row, but if he deserves it again this season, Jokic has to win it again. It would be in the sexy category if that happened.
Not so soon
There have been many times over the past 30 years that she has won back-to-back MVPs. Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Tim Duncan, Steve Nash, and LeBron James (twice, four in five years) and Stephen Curry and Giannis Antentounmo have won consecutive times over the past 30 years.
The last time someone won three straight seasons in the NBA was Larry Bird of the Boston Celtics in 1983-84, 1984-85 and 1985-86. This is the company you should be with. Not even players like Michael Jordan or LeBron James have accomplished this feat to the extent that they have. Nikola Jokic feels he deserves it for the third year in a row if he stays healthy and plays at this pace with the Denver Nuggets.
It’s felt like an eternity since someone won the NBA MVP award three times in a row. It will be interesting to see what voters decide once the regular season is over this season.
Possible fatigue of Nikola Jokic
It’s very possible that since Nikola Jokic has won back-to-back NBA MVP awards, some people are tired of him and not voting for him to win the award this season. Some other potential candidates for the award this season could be: Jason Tatum of the Boston Celtics, Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks, and Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks.
The Denver Nuggets don’t play in a very large market, and feel like a late bloomer in the NBA. Denver would be nothing without him because the health of Jamal Murray and Michael Porter, Jr. is still a bit of an issue. Without Jokic, this basketball team would be one of the worst in the league because it makes everyone around it better.
His IQ for a big guy is one of the best in the business. Nikola Jokic winning it for the third straight season would be something of a historic one for the NBA, and cement his status as a potential first ballot of the NBA’s Famer.
