NBA is already bracing Nuggets fans for Nikola Jokic letdown they know is coming

The NBA announced end-of-season award finalists on Sunday, and as exciting as it was to see Tim Hardaway Jr. listed among the Sixth Man of the Year finalists, it didn't feel that way to see Nikola Jokić's name in the MVP group, and learning that the winner will be revealed on Friday. Why? Well, Denver Nuggets fans already know how that's going to go.

Jokić, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Victor Wembanyama are the three finalists. The way that race will probably shake out is SGA, Wemby, and then the Joker.

Everyone should agree that Jokić has been one of the best players in the league over the past several years. It never gets boring for Nuggets fans (and the non-Nuggets fans that appreciate the beauty of his game) to watch him fill up the stat sheet.

Unfortunately, it's gotten boring for others to the point that what he did during the regular season is underappreciated.

Who cares that he averaged 27.7 points per game (eighth in the league), 12.9 rebounds (first in the NBA), and a career-high 10.7 assists (also first in the NBA)? Who cares that he is the first player to lead the league in rebounds and assists per game? Who cares that he did that as a center? Who cares about on-off differential?

None of that stuff is all that important!

Jokic is an MVP finalist, but Nuggets fans know he won't win

Before the season started, everyone thought that the race would, once again, come down to Gilgeous-Alexander and Jokić. Hey, maybe it still will, but it's hard not to think that Wembanyama won't finish second. A reporter asked him to state his case for the award a few weeks ago, and he did (you can't blame him for that), but that's when it felt like the race really started to shift.

It helps, of course, that Wemby led the Spurs to the No. 2 seed in the West, guiding them back to the playoffs for the first time in six years. What he's done this season is special, and he's an incredible player, but it feels like his being the "shiny new toy" pushed Jokić to the side. SGA may be en route to his second MVP, but it won't be long until voter fatigue comes for him.

As frustrating as it is knowing that the conversation around MVP turned into something it shouldn't have (are you really surprised, though?), fans have had plenty of time to prepare for what's coming, and to be sure to stay off social media.

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