Denver Nuggets: Nikola Jokic can’t stop at just winning MVP

Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic is the 2020-21 NBA Most Valuable Player. It’s the most prestigious individual award in the NBA and other major sports.

Simply put, this is a substantial achievement for Jokic. But it gets more impressive.

The 6’11” center was drafted by the Nuggets with the 41st pick in the 2014 draft. When he won MVP, he became the lowest-drafted player to win the award in NBA history.

Nikola Jokic won the 2020-21 NBA MVP with the Denver Nuggets, but this is just one step toward cementing his legacy in NBA history.

Jokic played every game across the 72-game season, averaging 26.4 points, 10.8 rebounds and 8.3 assists per game on .566/.388/.868 shooting splits. The Nuggets finished with the 3-seed in the Western Conference and the fifth-best record in the NBA, and Jokic tallied a league-leading 15.6 win shares.

While all this is valuable, it only holds so much weight in NBA history. Jokic joins 34 other individuals to win MVP since 1955-56, but this group is not considered the top 35 players in NBA history.

Players such as Derrick Rose have an MVP, while Dwyane Wade, John Stockton and Jerry West don’t. An MVP award is valuable, but one’s career isn’t defined by such.

So, going forward, Jokic needs to take the next step: Win an NBA championship.

A championship is the most prestigious award basketball has to offer and for many, it holds the greatest weight when ranking all-time greats against each other. If Jokic can accomplish such a feat, he’d establish himself as one of the best to ever play.

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But doing so isn’t going to happen this year. The Phoenix Suns swept Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference Semifinals. This sets Jokic back a year and allows other young stars to win a ring before him.

And with the four teams left in the playoffs — the Atlanta Hawks, Milwaukee Bucks, LA Clippers and Suns — at least one star will raise the trophy for the first time. The only remaining star who has a championship to name is Kawhi Leonard, who is out indefinitely. Players such as Devin Booker, Chris Paul, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Trae Young and Paul George are eyeing their first title.

One of those — or two if the Suns win — will win before Jokic. It’s imperative that Jokic makes a deep run next season to keep up with the others.

Sure, excuses could be made given that Jamal Murray was unavailable to play for the Nuggets this postseason. However, that should be thrown out the window.

Instead, focus on next season and remember Jokic is just 26 years old and performed terrifically in his third playoffs. He averaged 29.8 PPG, 11.6 RPG, 5.0 APG and 0.9 BPG on .509/.377/.836 shooting splits. Jokic led the Nuggets in points and rebounds per game, and he was second in assists and blocks per game.

That’s impressive.

Heading into next season, the Nuggets will be without Murray for at least the first half of the year as he recovers from a torn ACL. Nevertheless, he’ll be back in time for the playoffs, allowing for him and Jokic to reunite on the court.

Furthermore, Michael Porter Jr. will have yet another season under his belt as he continues to explode onto the scene. This past year, Porter averaged 19.0 PPG and 7.3 RPG on an efficient .542/.445/.791 shooting splits. He started 54 of the 61 games he played and averaged 31.3 minutes per contest.

Once Murray returns, the trio of Jokic, Murray and Porter will be complete and should be ready to clash with the top teams in the playoffs. Between that trio and the rest of the Nuggets squad that helped propel the team to a 47-25 record, Denver should expect a deeper playoff run and hope Jokic and co. can raise the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy at the season’s end.