It feels like all season everyone has been attempting to give anyone but Nikola Jokic the MVP. But he clearly deserves the award, and that’s okay because the guy is legitimately great. How many other players could you put on this current Denver Nuggets team and still believe they could win a playoff series?
I’ll admit when I had previously seen a stat like box plus/minus, where his season ranks top ten all-time alongside the likes of LeBron James, Michael Jordan and Steph Curry; it gave me pause for a second.
But then you watch him play and see he is putting in work from every area on the floor, whether that be at the rim, from mid-range or beyond the arc. And that’s on top of his ability to facilitate from the center possession, where he is unquestionably without peer as a passer. In fact, he’s one of one in the sense that he’s the only big man in the league who I believe is a one-man offense.
He won’t be the Most Valuable Player by default, he’s dominating, just ask Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers. The Joker is continuing to prove himself as a consistent playoff performer in that series. He’s currently sitting at a cool 25, 11 and 7 in his postseason career, and it feels like he’s just getting started.
So, though he may not look the part, it’s time for everyone to stop denying the greatness of Nikola Jokic. And maybe it’s also time for a nickname change as well, because his game is no joke.
