Nikola Jokic Won His Third NBA MVP Award

Throughout the playoffs, the winners of the 2023-24 NBA regular season awards have been announced, and by Wednesday night, there was only one major award left to be handed out: the Most Valuable Player. Victor Wembanyama took home Rookie of the Year, Rudy Gobert earned Defensive Player of the Year, Naz Reid won Sixth Man of the Year, Tyrese Maxey won Most Improved Player, and Mark Daigneault won Coach of the Year, leaving the most contentious awards race for last.

Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander were the three finalists, and all had strong cases. SGA was the best player on the West’s best team, putting up astronomical numbers on offense while providing the best defensive impact of the top MVP candidates. Doncic made a late charge for the award, as he had the best second half of the finalists to help the Mavs earn the 5-seed in the West. Jokic, meanwhile, put forth another preposterous regular season and, fresh off a championship, had gotten rid of any lingering questions about his impact on winning at the highest level.

Ultimately, the voters chose Jokic, as the Nuggets star picked up his third MVP in the last four years.

Jokic averaged 26.4 points, 12.4 rebounds, and 9.0 assists per game on 58.3/35.0/81.7 shooting splits, leading the Nuggets to the 2-seed in the West. The timing of the announcement was maybe not the best to get a big reaction from the star center, as he and the Nuggets have had their hands full with the Wolves, going down 2-0 in the first two games in Denver. They’ll have a chance to get back in the series in Game 3 on Friday night in Minnesota.

Despite the many arguments about who should win, Jokic ultimately won comfortably in the voting.