Stephen Noh of the Sporting News decided to create his own poll by asking a mix of 53 media members, current/former executives, and scouts who the current best player in the NBA is. You will never guess who received 35 of the votes — Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokić. It's not the same as polling people on who they think should win MVP, but still, it's hard not to be confused about what his placement in that voting will probably be.
The race was between Jokić and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, but Victor Wembanyama climbed his way up into the ranks to the point where he replaced Jokić, pushing the center down to third. SGA will likely win the award for the second straight year, but in the poll, he received only 10 votes, while Wemby got eight.
Look, this is just a poll that doesn't reflect everyone who has an MVP vote, but since there was a big gap between Jokić and SGA, you'd assume he'd have a better chance of winning the actual award.
Yes, Nikola Jokić is the best player in the world
Noh mentioned that several people who voted for Jokić in the poll said they wouldn't choose him for their MVP pick. Mike Shearer from Basketball Poetry said the big man has "coasted on defense and been too temper-tantrumy for my liking," but that Nikola is who he'd want in Game 7 of the NBA Finals.
Another Jokić voter said that people were "overreacting a bit" to how he looked when returning from his knee injury. You would've thought that he suddenly turned into the worst player in the world during that stretch, and that's when his MVP popularity really started to fade. It would've ended entirely if he hadn't returned in time and hit the 65-game mark, but he finished the season with exactly that.
Nikola wasn't just coasting his way through, either. He averaged 25 points, 13.9 rebounds, and 11.6 points on 55% shooting from the field in the last 11 games he played to end the season, which were all wins.
Look at what Jokić did throughout the entirety of the regular season — averaged 27.7 points (eighth in the league, leading all centers), 12.9 rebounds (first in the league), and 10.7 assists (again, first in the league) per game. He averaged a triple-double for the second consecutive year.
It's not all about his numbers, but they are fascinating to look at for a center. Jokić isn't supposed to do the things he does at his size, but that's what makes him so special. His basketball IQ is off the charts, too. He makes everyone around him better.
Jokić is absolutely the best player in the league, and he has been for a while. You'd think that he'd be in the thick of the MVP race. Maybe he will, but it feels like he won't. Oh, well. His focus isn't on winning MVP, but something more.
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