Denver Nuggets: most likely to win MVP

The Denver Nuggets have done as good a job with their roster as any team in the western conference over the last five years. Which of their players is most likely to bring home an MVP award?

Jamal Murray, Gary Harris, and Nikola Jokic make up the core of the Nuggets’ roster. The recent addition of Paul Millsap is in part what helped push the Nuggets closer to an ever-elusive NBA finals berth. Jokic and Murray are locked up on enormous long term extensions, while Harris and Will Barton appear to be more moveable.

Murray’s play has improved astronomically over the last three seasons. When play in the NBA stopped, Murray was averaging 19 points per game with a player efficiency rating of 17.59. Only three years prior, Murray averaged 10 points a game and was hardly even a part of the offense altogether.

Murray’s defensive abilities have also taken leaps forward as he gradually began defending the tougher assignments night in and night out. But Murray’s individual career still has a long way to go before he can catch Jokic, as he has yet to appear in an all-star game.

Jokic, on the other hand, is destroying the competition. While not looking the part in the slightest, Jokic averages more assists than Murray with seven per game to go along with 20 points and 10 rebounds. While defensively challenged, Jokic is among the most complete offensive players in the entire league, and might particularly benefit from the NBA’s hiatus.

One of the biggest criticisms of Jokic’s game to this point in his five year career has been his conditioning. Jokic is listed at 284 pounds, which is part of what makes him appear to wobble up and down the court. For perspective, Zion Williamson weighs in at 285 pounds, but is an absolute cinderblock whereas Jokic is a bit more burly.

But for him, being off the floor and confined to his own workout routines might push Jokic to get in the best shape of his life. If Denver can have him running up and down the floor with Murray and Harris, the Nuggets’ offense will be completely unstoppable. Paul Millsap may be on his way out the door in free agency, but that could be an opportunity for the Nuggets to go smaller and outrun some of their opponents.

Jokic can be the passer that Dirk Nowitzki wasn’t, the shooter Alonzo Mourning didn’t dream to be, and the fast-break option Shaquille O’Neal couldn’t be. His offensive skills are already the best out of any center in basketball, and he only needs to work himself into game-shape to become the first MVP award recipient in team history.