Nikola Jokic has been awarded his second consecutive NBA MVP, but where does he rank on the all-time list of back-to-back league MVPs?
On Sunday (May 9th), the news broke that the Denver Nuggets‘ franchise center, Nikola Jokic, had been voted the league MVP for a second consecutive season. Joining a rare class of all-time NBA greats that have won back-to-back Most Valuable Player awards.
A list that includes Giannis Antetokounmpo, Steph Curry, LeBron James, Steve Nash, Tim Duncan, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Moses Malone, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain, and Bill Russell.
At first glance, it’s easy to get starstruck by the names on this list. With all of them either in the Hall of Fame or soon to be. But is it possible that Nikola Jokic is the greatest back-to-back MVP ever?
Here’s my argument.
Below Average Supporting Cast
It’s well documented that Nikola Jokic had far less to work with compared to the two men he was competing with for the award this year, Joel Embiid and Giannis Antetokounmpo. Not only was he without both of his two All-Star running mates (Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr.) for almost the entire regular season. But nobody else on his team averaged over 15 points per game either.
So then how does the rest of his supporting cast fare compared to former back-to-back MVPs?
When Giannis won his last two MVPs, he had his partner in crime in the prime of his career, Khris Middleton. As well as two former All-Stars in Jrue Holiday and Brook Lopez. While Curry’s always been surrounded by talent in Golden State. Most notably Draymond Green and Klay Thompson, both of whom are likely to be Hall of Famers when all is said and done.
Then there’s LeBron, who won his previous two league MVPs as a member of the star-studded cast down in South Beach. Or Steve Nash, who won both of his awards as the lead man on the ‘Run N Gun Suns‘ alongside All-Stars Amare Stoudemire, and Shawn Marrion.
Not to mention Tim Duncan, who had Manu Ginobli, Tony Parker, and the winningest coach of all time, Gregg Popovich, for the majority of his NBA career.
Jordan had Pippen and Rodman, Magic had Kareem and Worthy, Bird had McHale and Parish, Moses had Hayes and Erving, Wilt had Greer and Walker while Russell had Havlicek and Cousy.
None of this is to take away from the accomplishments of any one of these NBA legends. But it’s hard to argue against the fact that Nikola Jokic had far less to work with than any other back-to-back MVP before him.