The 2023 NBA MVP race is pretty much down to two players now: Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets and Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers. All season long, the two have been dominating the league as they’ve carried their teams to the top of the standings.
This has been a thing since two years ago when Jokic won his very first MVP. But now, the conversation has gotten more intense than ever as the Nuggets superstar sits on the verge of winning his third straight — without so much as a Finals appearance to show for it.
In a recent article for ESPN, Zach Lowe was the latest to chime in on the ongoing debate and dropped some harsh truths about how these players stack up against each other. Unsurprisingly, he stuck up for Jokic and reminded the world that his track record of playoff success might not be as bad as we’ve been led to believe.
“It is not some crime to be skeptical about the Denver Nuggets defense holding up in the playoffs,” wrote Lowe. “Nikola Jokic is not a rim protector. (It is a crime — a basketball crime, anyway — to pretend as if Jokic has had less postseason success than Joel Embiid. Both have been centerpieces on undermanned teams which were dispatched in the first round — Jokic last season against the eventual champions; Embiid in the bubble against the Boston Celtics with Ben Simmons out. Jokic has reached one conference final; Embiid has never been that far. Jokic’s individual postseason numbers are better. None of this should matter in the MVP debate, but there appears to be a misconception in some corners that Jokic’s lack of postseason success should be held against him relative to Embiid.).”
Jokic and the Nuggets have flamed out in the playoffs before, including last season when they got knocked off by the Golden State Warriors in five games. But the Joker has also seen some playoff success as well that includes a trip to the Western Conference Finals after storming back from a 3-1 deficit.
Can The Nuggets Win The Title This Season?
No matter how you have for MVP, we can all agree that this season is a big one for Jokic. If he wins his third straight, people are going to want to see results, or he could face some serious backlash.
Thankfully, the Nuggets looked primed to make a deep run this year. With Jamal Murray healthy again and several new additions like Aaron Gordon and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope making their presence felt, Denver is deeper than ever, and Jokic has made the most of it so far.
But until the Nuggets prove they can come out of the West, there will always be doubts about what they, and Jokic himself, can do when the stakes are highest.
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