Nikola Jokic's Case For MVP

Late Tuesday night in Miami, the Heat and Nuggets were tied at 99 a piece with the ball in Jamal Murray’s hands. Coming out of a timeout, Murray let the clock run down to nine seconds before making a decisive move. Many coaches would have drawn up an elaborate play to get the ball whizzing around the perimeter in hopes of finding an open shooter or simply called an isolation play in an attempt to exploit a mismatch but Nuggets coach Michael Malone kept it simple. Nikola Jokic ran to the ball, set a quick screen, caught a pass from Murray, and knocked down an awkward, wrong-footed floater to put Denver ahead for good.

To go along with the game winner, Jokic lead the team with his 4th triple-double of the year (29/11/10) on the second night of a back to back. What’s even more impressive is that these numbers have been pretty standard for him lately. Jokic averaged 26/11/9 through December as the Nuggets played without starters Will Barton, Paul Millsap, and Gary Harris. Over that stretch Denver went 8-4 with impressive wins over OKC, San Antonio, and Toronto (twice). As the Nuggets continue to rack up wins, Jokic is generating more buzz for some MVP recognition, something that fans unaware of his game should take note of.

Many fans might not be too familiar with Jokic’s season for one simple reason. Nobody has really paid much attention to the Nuggets since Melo left, even though they’ve remained competitive due to their young core. Jokic has never garnered a ton of attention either, even though he’s been a top three center over the last couple years.This lack of a spotlight could possibly be attributed to his somewhat goofy look. The guy doesn’t exactly have the looks of a top level NBA player, though he is listed as 7 foot, 250 lbs. Where other top centers may have muscle, Jokic has baby fat. This isn’t to say he isn’t strong, he still plays like a tank in the post and rumbles to the rim with ease, but his strength seems to benefit most from his overpowering weight.

dat gut

On top of this unique physique, Jokic is incredibly skilled as a passer and finisher. I don’t mean that in a, “for a big man,” sort of way either. Jokic is just one of the league’s most skilled players period. On top of averaging 19 points and 10 rebounds (numbers that would likely be higher if Jokic had accepted his role as Denver’s go-to-guy earlier in the season) Jokic is handing out 7.5 assists per contest. While he is still very young (23) he could definitely earn the title of the greatest passing center of all time in a few years. It definitely helps that he has some sort of psychic connection with Murray and the rest of the Denver guards that leads to some beautiful backdoor passes

Jokic is the first real, “point-center,” player the league has seen. It’s not unusual to see him bring the ball up for Denver and initiate the play. In halfcourt sets, he’s sort of like the hub of the offense. Denver’s guards run routes around him knowing that he’ll slip a pass to them as soon as they’re open off a cut. Malone has even begun playing him with Mason Plumlee, another Nuggets big man, which lead to what might be the only center-to-center pick and roll you’ll ever see.

The Nuggets have been the first seed in the West for the majority of the season now after failing to make the playoffs the last few years. They were expected to be better this year, but they’ve still exceeded expectations and that’s mostly due to Jokic’s continued improvement. While he might not have the same star power as other MVP candidates like Giannis, Harden, Kawhi, and Curry, he still deserves more attention than he’s getting. Don’t be surprised to hear Jokic’s name come up more in MVP talks if he and his team continue their pace.

“When you watch Nikola Jokic play, you feel good about life. You feel good about the world. You believe that tomorrow is worth fighting for.” - Bill Walton