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.
Elite All-Around Stats
Obviously, any player who’s won the NBA MVP has had a historic season on some level. Although, Nikola Jokic is coming off perhaps the best all-around season statistically the league has ever seen.
By the end of the regular season, Jokic finished in the top ten in points per game (27.1), assists per game (7.9), and second in rebounds per game (13.8). He also averaged more steals than any other big man in the league and was the only player to shoot over 58.3 percent from the field, 33 percent from deep, and 81 percent from the free-throw line.
Although, we have to take a closer look at his advanced metrics to get a better idea of his impact on the court.
First off, Jokic had the highest PIE rating in the NBA at 37.6 and was among the league leaders in every major statistical category beyond that. Most notably, he finished fifth in assist percentage (38.8), second in rebound percentage (20.9) and eighth in offensive rating (117.3) among players averaging 20 minutes per game or more.
All while carrying one of the higher usage ratings in the league at 30.9. Which contributed to Nikola Jokic walking away with the best PER in league history of 32.8.
Simply put, Jokic had arguably the most efficient individual season in NBA history.
Wilt, Kareem, MJ, LeBron… Basically, everybody who’s won back-to-back league MVPs has put up incredible numbers. However, you could argue that none of these superstars put up as great of an all-around statistical performance as Jokic. At least from an efficiency standpoint.
It’s easy to get hung up on his highlight reel passes and heroic showings night in and night out, but these only tell part of the story. The truth is that Jokic’s individual statistics this season rival any NBA great of years past, and tell the bigger picture of why he’s arguably the greatest back-to-back MVP ever.
Nobody Thought He’d Be Here
Of perhaps any player who’s won back-to-back league MVPs, Nikola Jokic’s story is the most awe-inspiring. As nobody could’ve predicted he would make it this far when he first got drafted to the Denver Nuggets 41st overall back in 2014.
The only other player that you could argue would be Giannis. Who also came from humble beginnings and was heavily under-recruited given how big of a star he is today. Although, even still, he was at least drafted in the first round, whereas Nikola Jokic had to wait late into round two before hearing his name get called.
Wilt, Kareem, Moses, Magic, MJ, Duncan and LeBron were all superstars before they were even old enough to drive. So, we had a pretty good idea they’d all carve out futures in professional basketball at some point.
While Bill Russell, Larry Bird, Steve Nash and Steph Curry all had standout careers in college before turning pro. Each of whom holds records to this day for their respective programs.
Nikola Jokic, on the other hand, took a far different path to get to the NBA. He went from being an overweight Serbian horse racer who drank three litres of Coca-Cola per day to becoming the best basketball player in the world.
He went from averaging less than 2 points, 2 rebounds and 10 minutes per game in Serbia at 17-years-old. To setting NBA records and ranking in the top ten all-time in career triple-doubles before the age of 27.
From his humble beginnings in Sombor, Serbia, to becoming the best basketball player on the planet. Part of what makes him the greatest back-to-back MVP in league history is that nobody expected him to be here.
Even if you don’t want to admit that Nikola Jokic is the greatest back-to-back MVP in NBA history. He’s at the very least the most impressive given his surrounding circumstances, elite individual statistics and humble beginnings.