Nikola Jokic is undoubtedly one of the best players in the league today. The Joker is the reigning MVP of the league and is on pace to win the third consecutive MVP award of his career.
Jokic has surpassed all expectations since getting drafted into the NBA. After all, he was the 41st overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft. Keeping that in mind, former NBA star Gilbert Arenas recently hailed him as the greatest draft pick since Michael Jordan.
“This is really, really a hot take; Joker is the best draft pick since Michael Jordan, 1984,” Arenas said. “LeBron is a number one pick. So, the Number one pick is supposed to play like the number one pick. Jordan was the number three pick, which actually helps his boost of what he did. Joker was a second-round pick, so for a second-round pick to actually play like a number one pick. That makes him the second-best draft pick by his numbers. Two-time MVP, bout to be a three-time MVP, four-time All-NBA player. Those numbers will actually beat second for his projections.”
Arenas wanted to make sure that fans understood his argument for Jokic being the best draft pick since Jordan due to surpassing all expectations. Agent 0 further talked about Kobe Bryant being the third-best draft pick in the history of the NBA.
“Third would be Kobe Bryant,” Arenas added. “You could argue Kobe was the second-best pick, but because Joker is so far second round he has to be the number two. You gotta understand, the second round pick, that is two years, and you are gone.”
Kobe Bryant was drafted as the 13th overall pick in the 1996 NBA Draft. While the Mamba had a sensational career, he was still expected to be a great player.
But as for Jokic, no one expected him to find this level of success in the NBA in his career. If anything, the usual expectation for a second-round draft pick is to be a role player.
Nikola Jokic’s Honest Thoughts On Potentially Winning Three Consecutive MVP Awards
In the 2022-23 NBA season, Nikola Jokic is averaging 24.3 PPG, 11.8 RPG, and 10.0 APG while shooting 63.0% from the field and 39.8% from the three-point line.
On top of that, Jokic has led the Denver Nuggets to the best record in the Western Conference. All things considered, Jokic deserves to win the MVP award this season. If he wins it, this will be the third consecutive MVP award of his career, and here’s what he had to say about it:
“I really can’t do it again,” said Jokic. “When it begins, and they put me in the narrative again. Oh, he hasn’t played well… Oh, now he’s great. Let him (Larry Bird) have it. Let him have it. Let him enjoy it.”
Another insane fact about the Serbian international’s MVP season is the fact that he is the only MVP in the history of the NBA to never have an All-Star, All-NBA, or All-Defense teammate. It proves how much value Jokic truly brings to the table for Denver Nuggets.
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