No Joke – NBA’s MVP Should Be from Denver Nuggets

Nikola Jokic should be the 2024-2025 NBA Most Valuable Player Award frontrunner, but he’s not.

Despite the Denver Nuggets center averaging a 30 point per game “triple-double”, that is 30 points, 13 rebounds, and 10 assists per game, it’s still not enough to swing the NBA media.

The last two weeks of the NBA.com’s Kia MVP Ladder, a measuring stick in NBA media for who’s in the lead for the MVP award, has Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander holding the top spot, averaging 32 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists per game.

The casual NBA fan might look at these numbers and tell you something like this:

“Look, it’s pretty obvious that Shai deserves the MVP. He’s averaging the most points in the league, and his team is tied for the best record in the league.”

But dive into past MVP awards, and you’ll find a surprising pattern.

Averaging the most points is no guarantee of winning an MVP.

Since the year 2000, only six of the 24 MVPs handed out went to the scoring champion.

Scoring, in the end, is a moot point in this debate-Jokic himself is averaging 30 points, something not to scoff at.

It’s arguably what Nikola Jokic brings to the court that isn’t scoring is why he deserves to win MVP.

Let’s revisit the stat of a triple-double. Sure, it’s not some rare feat; in today’s NBA, where teams are scoring over 113 points a game, it’s somewhat common.

What’s not common is averaging a triple-double over an entire season.

Only two players in NBA history have achieved that feat; the late great Wilt Chamberlain in the 1961-1962 season, and Russell Westbrook in 2016-2017.

You can most likely add Nikola Jokic to that list.

Jokic has already tallied 25 triple doubles this season.That’s 10 more than the next closest player has this season.

In advanced statistics, Jokic blows his competition out of the water.

He leads the NBA in the Player Efficiency Rating (PER), as well as Win Shares, aka who deserves credit for team success, according to Basketball Reference.

All this on ridiculous efficiency shooting wise – 57% from the field, 45% from 3-point range, 82% from the line, again according to Basketball Reference.

Centers have long been looked at as just post threats, but Jokic has the ability to score from all three levels, rebound the ball at an extremely high rate, and open up the floor with his passing that makes even the most gifted passers jealous. It’s an incomparable skillset across NBA history and the league today.

This trinity of basketball skills makes watching Jokic and the Denver Nuggets a stunning experience; one minute, you’ll see a 6-foot, 11-inch, 284-pound Jokic side step an all-NBA defender, fade back and swish a three so casually you’d think he’s playing in his backyard. The next, Jokic will grab a rebound and fire it down the court,ala Patrick Mahomes, to a streaking teammate faster than you can take a sip of your drink.

I beg you, watch a few Nikola Jokic highlights and you’ll see exactly what I mean.

Jokic’s influence stretches beyond just SportsCenter “Top 10” plays though. His teams are consistently near the top of the NBA standings; in 2023 he won the NBA Finals.

That’s where we reach the second, and maybe more compelling argument against awarding Nikola Jokic his fourth career MVP this year.

Voters see the highlight plays, the triple-doubles en mass from Jokic, but some look at the standings-right now Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s Thunder are at the top of the Western Conference (8 games ahead of Jokic’s nuggets), and say something like:

“We can’t give Jokic another MVP! Shai is leading his team to the best record in the league, isn’t the MVP award supposed to go to the best player on the best team?”

I feel strongly that the MVP shouldn’t be determined by this criteria.

Not only is it dismissive in general, but in this case, it’s downright neglecting the individual greatness of Nikola Jokic.

The Nuggets are the third seed in the NBA’s western conference. Again, eight games behind Oklahoma City.

You can say that pound for pound, the Thunder have been a better team this year.

But look closely and you’ll realize what Jokic is doing to carry this Nuggets team to a top seed is remarkable.

Tasked with leading a team that just lost arguably its best 3-point shooter to free agency in the offseason, Kentavious Caldwell Pope, Jokic’s play has propelled the Nuggets into talks of being the best team in the league with a record of 18-6 since January.

All this without a fellow all-star on his team this season; Gilgeous-Alexander’s teammate Jalen Willams was given an All-Star nod recently. Oklahoma City’s young center Chet Holmgren is a Defensive Player of the Year caliber player. A batch of well assembled role players sit around Shai and the Thunder core.

Jokic is simply put, doing more with less. There are no role players on the Nuggets that will make opposing teams sweat when Jokic goes to the bench.

A “role player” on the Thunder, Aaron Wiggins (who could start for most teams) dropped 41 points in a game this month…you will absolutely not see a bench player on the Nuggets putting up those numbers.

Nikola Jokic, I would argue, guiding his Nuggets to a top three record in the West is more impressive than Gilgeous-Alexander, with a well constructed roster, leading the Thunder to the best record in the West.

Voters might be tired of seeing Jokic being a perennial MVP candidate, but it’s time to accept what is becoming an increasing reality.

Jokic is one of the greatest individual talents both this year, and in NBA history.

A one of one player, doing one of one things. Nikola Jokic deserves to be the 2024-2025 NBA MVP front runner-and eventual MVP.

Kaleb Moore is a Wichita freshman studying journalism. You can follow him on Instagram.

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