Nikola Jokic and his Denver Nuggets have found their groove this NBA season, ranking 5th in the Western Conference at this moment. They were in a very complex position during the first months of competition but now things are getting better for them.
The Joker has propelled them to the 5th position in the West, earning a lot of praise around the league. They still need to catch up with the top 4 but things are going well for them, which is why Mike Malone believes the Serbian big man should be the winner of the 2021 MVP award. He finished with 34 points, 15 rebounds and 9 assists in the Nuggets’ OT win over the Chicago Bulls, 131-127.
After the game was over, Malone had nothing but good things to say about his star, saying he was the MVP of the season over anybody else.
“There’s so much talk about the MVP and who’s leading the pack, who’s this and that. I don’t care. In my opinion, Nikola is the MVP of the season,” he said. “Obviously, I’m biased because I love him. He’s done so much for this franchise in six years. If you look at his numbers, all right, and somebody asked a game ‘well what about his defense?’ That’s why they have a Defensive Player of the Year. This is the most valuable player and Nikola is a tremendous talent and how many other guys in this league impact the game on so many levels every single night and his productivity in clutch situations, there’s nobody better than him right now in my opinion.”
Jokic has improved his level season after season and now is one of the best players in the league. The recent NBA MVP ladder actually has the 26-year-old as the new No. 1 candidate to take the trophy home. In our power ranking, he ranks second, only behind James Harden of the Brooklyn Nets.
We still have a couple of months of competition and even though people believe LeBron James should end up winning the award, other players like the Joker and Harden could make a run for Bron’s money.
