File photo of Nikola Jokic.© X (Twitter)
Champions in 2023, the Denver Nuggets have been indifferent for the past 18 months. After going through the regular season last year, they didn’t make it to the NBA Finals. But franchise cornerstone Nikola Jokic has stood in the way of a third MVP title due to his lone streak. Although the Nuggets struggled early in the 24-25 season, Jokic is likely having his best year yet.
What’s so mind-boggling about the big Serbian’s campaign this year is that the Nuggets have a thin squad in terms of depth. And just 12 months ago squad depth was one of their main strengths. And simply because so much of the burden, not just offensively, but defensively, fell on Jokic’s shoulders, his numbers took an astronomical leap. Joker is averaging a 30-point triple double in 10 games he’s played this season. But the stat that makes his season stand out above all else is that the Nuggets have the highest offensive rating in NBA history when Jok is on the court and the lowest offensive rating in NBA history when Jok is off it.
There has only been one consensus MVP season and that was Stephen Curry in 2016. The Warriors were the greatest regular season team in NBA history that year, with Curry averaging 45% 30-a-night shooting from deep. But Jokic may not be playing for the Dubs, 73-9 this season, but a struggling Nuggets lineup that is completely transformed when the 29-year-old Serbian plays. While Joker’s shooting splits are bound to decline over the course of the year, it’s still pretty amazing that he’s making 56% of his threes to average 29.7 points, 13.7 rebounds and 11.7 assists. And those numbers look even scarier, when you consider, Shaquille O’Neal’s highest PPG season was in 99-00 when he averaged 29.7 points. Tim Duncan’s highest RPG season was in 02-03 averaging 12.9 boards a game and Chris Paul’s highest APG season was in 07-08 averaging 11.6 assists. Meanwhile, Nikola Jokic managed to beat them all in one season, all by his lonesome.
Surely grounds for a consensus MVP season?
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