By taking home his third Most Valuable Player trophy, Nikola Jokic has become a member of an elite company of NBA greats.
Even if his Denver Nuggets are down 2-0 in the second round and their chances of making the NBA Finals seem slim, it is still vital to enjoy the awards from the regular season when they are announced.
Jokic easily earned another MVP award, receiving 79 of the 99 first-place votes. Guards Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Luka Doncic had excellent individual seasons, but they were not quite on the same level as him in the end. There was no question as to who should have won when the votes were counted soon after the regular season:
The total vote tally for Most Valuable Player
2024 SEASON
From start to finish, there was nobody better. Both on a per-minute and cumulative basis. Beyond just the raw counting stats, which we’ll get into, Jokic was once again the NBA’s leader in Win Shares, Box Plus-Minus (BPM), and virtually every advanced statistic – on top of missing only three games.
He played more minutes this season (2,737) than any other year of his career. Between the availability and night-to-night consistency, there isn’t a better floor-raiser in the league.
This particular award elevates him to another tier, especially when discussing his legendary status.
Jokic is now the ninth player in NBA history to win at least three MVPs in their career. He joins Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Russell, Michael Jordan, Wilt Chamberlain, LeBron James, Moses Malone, Larry Bird, and Magic Johnson on the list of 3-time MVP winners.
Having just turned 29 years old, Jokic is on pace with the basketball icons that came before him. He’s the same age Jordan was during the 1992 season, when MJ captured his third MVP trophy and was trying to lead Chicago to back-to-back championships:
All players with at least three regular season MVP awards
Jokic will have plenty of chances to contend for more MVPs because Denver’s front administration believes in continuity and the team has (basically) a long-term established core.
And even if the Nuggets falter during this run, Jokic and his leadership will be the main reasons why they remain a formidable team in the West for years to come.
Jokic is cemented as one of the best 18–20 players of all time by this MVP, which comes one year after one of the most dominant playoff runs the league has ever seen. Though it is now certain that he was there for several of them already.
He will not be far behind players like Hakeem Olajuwon and Kevin Durant in the historical hierarchy.
Jokic, who is only in his eighth season, has amassed a résumé that very few players can match. Furthermore, there is every reason to think he can continue to play at this level for the next six to eight years, because his playstyle is not dependent on extraordinary athleticism. If Jokic stays injury-free, which seems unlikely given that he is been one of the league’s most reliable and durable players, his career may end up looking a lot like Tim Duncan’s.
Examining his 2024 season and the reason he was selected in the end, he simply lacked many shortcomings. There were not many gaps in his argument. Even with co-star Jamal Murray sidelined for more than a month, Jokic led the Nuggets to 57 victories, four more than the previous season and good enough to tie for the top slot.
However, the absurd thing is that Jokic’s season was not nearly as good as it was a year prior, when in retrospect he most likely ought to have earned his third consecutive MVP award.
On a per-75 possession basis, he nevertheless averaged 28.4 points, 13.3 rebounds, and 9.6 assists. Before you even consider his unbelievable efficiency, those are just absurd figures for a center.
Jokic had shooting percentages of 70.2% near the rim, a ridiculous 61.7% in the floater area, 44% on mid-range shots, and 37.7% on threes made above the break.
To put his deadly floater touch in perspective: Kawhi Leonard finished second at 56.5% among all players who attempted at least 300 shots from that difficult in-between range; Jokic was much more effective and took 218 more shots.
From that range, Jalen Brunson, who may be the guard’s master of the floater, took around the same amount of shots (524). However, he concluded with a 51.7% clip, which is over ten percentage points less than Jokic.
A seven-footer with a finer scoring touch has never been seen in history.
In addition, Jokic recorded his lowest career turnover rate of 12.9%, which is more than four percentage points better than it was the previous year. With 708 assists to just 143 mistakes from faulty passes, his ratio is practically identical to that of Chris Paul or Steve Nash. But that is the allure of being a point center in today’s game—having an unmatched basketball IQ and an amazing eye for detail.
Denver Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic (15) passes the ball in front of Golden State Warriors’ Trayce … [+]
There is a Will Hunting version in the NBA. And that is exactly who Jokic is. In addition to being a master problem solver who consistently finds an offensive solution, his teammates adore his selfless demeanor.
In just 36 minutes of play, he generated 50.5 points through both his passing and scoring. This is this while averaging over 74.9 passes per game, which is more than any other point guard in the league and ranks him as the league’s top playmaking hub.
When it came to his team’s on-court influence throughout the regular season, nobody was more valuable. Denver outscored opponents by 11.8 points per 100 possessions when Jokic was on the court. During his minutes, he had an offensive rating of 122.4 and a defensive rating of 110.6. To put things in perspective, this year’s top defensive club limited opponents to 108.4 points per 100, while the top scoring team in the league scored 122.2 points per 100. Thus, when he played, the Nuggets were about to have their best-ever performance overall, on both ends.
Denver, on the other hand, became far less effective when Jokic had to take a break. With him sitting the bench, their offensive rating of 104.1 and true shooting percentage of 53.5% would have been the lowest in the NBA this season (Memphis was in 30th place at 106.8).
In the 1,200 minutes that Jokic was seated, the Nuggets posted a -8.6 net rating. Even if it was not quite as detrimental as it was the previous season (-10.4), it still illustrates how dependent they are on his skill on the halfcourt. It becomes a grind to provide excellent looks when he is not controlling the play, setting up his teammates, and making accurate passes.
There will be others who want to minimize the importance of Jokic’s three MVP honors. To be honest, some detractors think he does not belong in the esteemed triad of three-time champions; their main points of contention are his one triumph and Finals appearance.
But it is important to remember that MVP is a regular season award. Jokic will continue to add to his trophy cabinet unless someone blatantly outperforms him from October to April and propels his team to a noticeably superior record.
Like the previous two times, the winner this year was obvious.
Jokic is, optimistically, still halfway through his career. He is currently the “best player alive,” and that will not alter no matter what happens during this postseason run.
Jokic’s career is progressing quickly, as seen by the fact that he is already edging closer to the NBA legends. We ought to be grateful for what we are witnessing right now. since this speed is not typical.
However, when you watch Jokic, nothing about his greatness or ability feels typical. And it is what sets him apart.