Preseason NBA predictions are starting to pour in, and the ESPN insiders have voted, and Nikola Jokic is the favorite to win yet another MVP award. In their panel, each expert, reporter, and insider selected their top three for each award, with a first-place vote counting as five points, a second-place vote counting as three points, and a third-place vote counting as one point.
Jokic led the MVP voting with 83 points, substantially ahead of second-placed Luka Doncic, who earned 62 points, and the current reigning MVP, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who earned 46 points.
It’s funny because Jokic seemed to largely lose the MVP vote to SGA last year due to voter fatigue, but if this vote is any indication, the fatigue may have worn off. Jokic obviously proved his mettle again last season and almost single-handedly willed the banged-up Nuggets to a playoff upset over the eventual champions, the Thunder.
But the Nuggets should be a better team this year, and assuming Jokic continues to do what he has been doing, there’s no reason to think he won’t be right back in the mix. This time around, the voters may be more willing to go back to the well.
4th MVP would put Jokic in rarified air
If the prognosticators are correct, and Jokic does win a fourth MVP award, he’ll join an elite group of only five other players in league history. Winning this season would pull into a tie with LeBron James and Wilt Chamberlain, who each have exactly four MVP awards.
At that point, he’d only be trailing Bill Russell and Michael Jordan, who each have five MVPs, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who stands alone as a six-time winner.
Whether the general public wants to acknowledge it or not, Jokci will be entering some uncomfortable conversations in terms of legacy. As a four-time winner, it would be difficult to say he’s not one of the 10 greatest players of all time, and that may still be lowballing it.
On top of that, if Jokic wins again this year, there will be no reason to think he’s done. At 30 years old, he should still have several prime years left. By all accounts, he works hard and stays in great shape, and his game has never been reliant on athleticism or speed.
If he wants to, he should be able to play into his late 30s and keep racking up accomplishments. It’s not at all crazy to think he could end up with five MVP awards when it’s all said and done, and at that point, Kareem and the record would be well within his sights. The next few years may get very interesting and will go a long way in determining just how high Jokic can soar.