Nikola Jokic has been the best player in the NBA for several years now. There were plenty of skeptics when Jokic won his first MVP award. Winning the award in back-to-back years quieted some critics, but still, they wanted to see him get it done on the biggest stage.
Then he followed it up by leading the Nuggets to their first title in franchise history, winning Finals MVP in the process. That should have put the discussion to rest, but in case there was any lingering doubt, Jokic came back and won his third MVP award in four years.
If that wasn’t enough, he then stole the show at the Olympics, almost singlehandedly leading Serbia to what would have been a miraculous victory over Team USA. He had to settle for bronze in Paris, but Jokic had made a loud statement to the entire basketball universe.
Jokic leading all-star vote-getter in West, 2nd overall
While the media and most fans have long been caught up by now, the casual NBA fanbase at large has been slow to catch up. Despite his reign of dominance over the league in recent years, Jokic has not received appropriate respect from fans in all-star game voting.
Jokic has never been the leading vote-getter in the Western Conference and has never finished higher than 5th overall; absurd for the game’s best player. But, of course, this is really just a popularity contest.
Jokic hasn’t endeared himself to casual fans with a boisterous personality or social media, he just goes about his business. He doesn’t draw attention to himself in any way off the court, he doesn’t play in a glamour-market, and he comes from a small(ish) Eastern European country.
But if early returns are any indication, the tides may finally be shifting. The first round of votes were tallied and revealed on Thursday and Nikola Jokic has the second-most votes of any player in the league, trailing only Giannis Antetokounmpo and leading the Western Conference.
Jokic has struggled to earn more votes than veteran American stars like LeBron James, Steph Curry, and Kevin Durant, but so far he leads all three this season. A lot can change between now and when voting closes, but hopefully this is a sign that the fans are ready to embrace the Joker for what he is.
Jayson Tatum of the Celtics has the third-most votes, Durant is fourth, and LeBron is fifth. Unsurprisingly, there was no other Nugget in the top 10 for guards or forwards.
Denver’s Nikola Jokic and Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo are leading the NBA’s first 2024-25 All-Star fan voting returns: pic.twitter.com/eQeU60l673
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) January 2, 2025