Nikola Jokic is one of the best big men in the league, and he is widely considered to be the best center in the league. He is a fantastic playmaker, rebounder, and scorer. Currently, Nikola Jokic is averaging 27.1 PPG, 13.8 RPG, and 7.8 APG.
There is no doubt that Nikola Jokic’s offensive production is elite. His performances have even garnered him some consideration for the MVP award. Most recently, Stan Van Gundy backed him to win the award, claiming that “it’s not that close” between him and the other leading candidates in Joel Embiid and Giannis Antetokounmpo.
I don’t understand why this is such an argument to be honest. I really don’t. It’s not that close. You look at the three leading candidates… they start talking about team victories. Jokic has been on the floor for more wins than either one of those two guys.
If you look statistically, he leads them across the board, all the analytical categories he’s No. 1. Including defensive box score plus-minus and defensive win shares. He’s ahead of both of those guys… then he’s ahead of them in rebounds, assists, steals, EFG%, TS%… I just don’t really know how you can make a good objective case for one of the other two guys.
Stan Van Gundy is far from the only person that has suggested Nikola Jokic should be MVP. Warriors coach Steve Kerr has previously backed Jokic for the award, claiming that he makes defense extremely difficult for the opposing team with his skills.
It remains to be seen if Nikola Jokic does in fact end up winning the award. It would certainly be an amazing way to cap off an excellent season for him. There’s no doubt that he has a deserving case for the award, and perhaps we’ll see the voters reward him for uplifting the Denver Nuggets for the entire season.
