Nikola Jokic is having an MVP season, yet again.
The Serbian center is posting eye-popping counting stats with 26.1 points, 13.8 rebounds, and 8.1 assists per game, making him the only NBA player in the top ten of each category. He also tops just about every advanced statistic one can find, on top of leading the injury-riddled Denver Nuggets to a top-six spot in the West, should the standings hold.
Jokic’s regular-season dominance is unquestionable, but the MVP award isn’t certain to be his just yet. Joel Embiid and Giannis Antetokounmpo are both making convincing cases of their own. Even after a thrilling 114-110 victory over Embiid’s Sixers, Jokic winning MVP isn’t a given.
It would be hard, though, to find an NBA fan who would be surprised to see Jokic win his second consecutive MVP. Such a feat would make him just the 13th player to take home the award in back-to-back seasons.
Nikola Jokic could be set to make unfortunate NBA history
Should he be voted the NBA MVP, Jokic may find himself in a position to make history in a less-than-ideal way. No back-to-back MVP has ever fallen short of the Conference Finals both of their MVP seasons, but with the aforementioned injury issues the Nuggets are facing, Jokic may wind up becoming the first to do so.
Now, yes – the MVP is a regular-season award – so it’s important to clarify his potential lack of playoff success wouldn’t make him an undeserving MVP. He absolutely deserves both awards.
However, it is important to note that many NBA fans disregard success that does not culminate in a championship. Should Jokic fail to make a deep run in this year’s playoffs, a narrative would likely begin to form in NBA circles about his inability to win.
Such a narrative would be unfair, of course. The Nuggets were missing their second-best player in Jamal Murray last playoffs, and could find themselves without both Murray and sharpshooter Michael Porter Jr. this time around.
The West also boasts very strong top-end teams this year. If the standings hold, the Nuggets would face the Golden State Warriors and then likely the Memphis Grizzlies in the first two rounds – two elite teams primed to make deep playoff runs if healthy. Jokic missing out on the Conference Finals again this season is understandable, MVP or not.
More than anything, this unprecedented lack of playoff success highlights how unfortunate the timing of these Denver injuries has been. Only 12 times in NBA history has a player dominated the league two years in a row to take home back-to-back MVPs, and none of those 12 faced the poor injury luck that Jokic has.
Given the circumstances, it would be no knock on Jokic’s back-to-back MVPs (should he win the award again) if he were to miss the Conference Finals. But history tends to ignore injuries when it looks back on players’ legacies. If Murray and Porter Jr. are unable to return for this year’s playoffs, Jokic may be at risk of seeing his legacy, and MVP awards, take an unfair blemish.