Nikola Jokić began the 2023-24 NBA season as the favorite to win the season’s MVP award. He has taken home the hardware twice over the past three seasons, and an argument can be made that he should have won it in 2022-23 as well. But there won’t be much of a case against him this year if he continues on his current pace, as he is leading the league in essentially every major category.
Jokić Leads The NBA In Most Major Categories
Nikola Jokic is as consistent as they come 😤
Is another MVP award in the bag for the Joker? pic.twitter.com/zkH6bYs3ra
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) December 4, 2023
The Denver Nuggets as a whole haven’t quite lived up to their lofty expectations through the first six weeks of the season, though there are injury-based excuses and reasons. Jamal Murray has missed 13 of the team’s last 14 games, and Aaron Gordon missed four contests during the final week of November. They are 14-7 and currently in third place in the Western Conference, though just 3 games separate them and the 11th-seeded Warriors.
Any struggles aren’t any fault of Jokić’s. Not only is he the NBA leader in total points with 579, he also leads the league in the other two categories that make up the traditional triple double. No player has grabbed more rebounds (255), and he has more assists (195) than any point guard.
Still Not Averaging Triple-Double Despite Big Numbers
Every statistic that Nikola Jokic is leading the league in
This is unprecented stuff we are witnessing #MV3 pic.twitter.com/Ki3KxrpNId
— Nuggets Lead (@NuggetsLead) December 3, 2023
His numbers would still put him short of averaging a triple double for the season, which he threatened to do last season. Jokić finished the 2022-23 season with 9.8 assists per game, and may have been the MVP by default had he added a few more towards the end of the year. His assist average is the exact same so far this year, though he is the per game rebound leader with 12.8.
Murray has been listed as a game time decision for the past couple of contests, so his return could be taking place in the coming days. The Nuggets will welcome their second-leading scorer back with open arms, as three of their next four games will be on the road, including Wednesday’s matchup with the Clippers, which will be broadcast on ESPN.
As far as the NBA MVP odds go, Nikola Jokić is currently running away with the award. He is listed at +150, with Luka Dončić (+550) and Joel Embiid (+750) as the other leaders on the board.
This website aggregates and curates news articles, blog posts, and other content from a variety of external sources. While we aim to link back to the original source, this site does not own or claim ownership of any articles, posts, or other content indexed on this site. The views, opinions, and factual statements expressed in each piece of aggregated content belong solely to its respective author and publisher. We make no representations or warranties regarding the accuracy or completeness of aggregated content. Visitors are advised to verify facts and claims through the original source before reuse or redistribution.
