The Michael Jordan Trophy – Marca
As we’ve discussed before on this blog, the Most Valuable Player Award (now the Michael Jordan Trophy) can forever change a player’s legacy; a rather good player could now be remembered as a great just by helming the prized possession. Understandably, fans have heated, sometimes toxic debates about who should win the award and who should have won the award – fans heatedly debate the Westbrook MVP race even today!
Some players in history have won multiple MVP awards: Kareem Abdul Jabbar (most wins at 6), LeBron James (4), Michael Jordan (5), Magic Johnson (5), Larry Bird (3), Wilt Chamberlain (4) – clearly, these players all fit the NBA legend mold. Only Larry Bird, Wilt Chamberlain, and Bill Russell have won the award three straight times, so fans consider this feat an all-time legendary one. With Nikola Jokic on the verge of winning his third consecutive MVP, fans understandably have strong reservations. We’ll analyze this debate by answer the following question: why is Nikola Jokic winning his third consecutive MVP considered problematic?
Denver Nuggets’ superstar center Nikola Jokic – Chris Herring, Sports Illustrated
Evaluating Jokic’s MVP case this season
Before we delve into the debate, let’s understand his case for the award. Jokic averages 25 points, 10 assists, and 11 rebounds (yes, that’s a triple double!) on the season. He shoots a ridiculous 63.9% from the field and 39.3% from the three-point line. The Denver Nuggets are the 1st seed in the Western Conference by a massive margin and have the 3rdbest record across the league. Safe to say, he thoroughly fulfils the MVP criterion: ridiculous box score numbers, pinpoint accuracy, insane advanced stats, and a top team seed.
Reasons for the reservations
Obviously, we mentioned that fans don’t want Jokic to win a third straight MVP award. Both of Jokic’s two MVPs were rather controversial; Joel Embiid, the Sixers’ prolific center, put up great scoring numbers, and his team also contended as the Eastern Conference’s one seed and four seed in 2021 and 2022, respectively. Clearly, Embiid also checked off the MVP criterion, so fans, especially Sixers fans, loudly expressed their disappointment when they didn’t see their titan win.
Many critiques criticize his playstyle because he doesn’t have the flashiest “bag” (i.e., step-back jumpers, ball handling, agility, etc.). This critique is rather nonsensical; Jokic still efficiently stuffs the stat sheet every night through his smooth moves that are post oriented rather than perimeter oriented. He won’t thunderously dunk like all-time scoring leader LeBron James nor shoot the lights out like Stephen Curry, but he will still lead his teams to top seeds and potentially to the NBA Finals like these guys.
Former Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell disappointed as his Utah Jazz blew a 3-1 lead to the Nuggets – Chris Haynes, Yahoo
Speaking of the NBA Finals, Jokic and the Nuggets have never reached the promise-land. The farthest they’ve ever gone in the playoffs is the Western Conference in the 2020 NBA Bubble season, but they lost the Western Conference title to the LeBron James & Anthony Davis-led Los Angeles Lakers. Nonetheless, fans acclaimed the team for overcoming two 3-1 deficits. This roster never progressed any further in the next two playoffs – both during Jokic’s MVP seasons. Fans criticized Jokic for his poor defense in their eliminations to the Suns and Warriors.
This lack of playoff success given his MVPs divided the NBA community and media. Fans question if Jokic deserved his MVPs, but the MVP celebrates regular season achievement, not playoff achievement. However, voters and fans are human, so they won’t forgive Jokic’s flops even though Jamal Murray missed the past two playoffs.
Conclusion
If Jokic wins this third consecutive MVP award, he would certainly elevate himself to all-time greatness, but the pressure to win an NBA championship also raises. Moreover, Jokic’s third consecutive MVP win would break the voter fatigue curse prevented LeBron James from winning five consecutive MVPs. The reservations against Jokic’s MVP case are questionable, but voters are ultimately human. We only have to wait few more months until June (but who knows?) to find out the 2022-23 NBA season’s most valuable player!
02/24/2023 at 5:34 PM
Jokic winning three MVP awards in a row would definitely be interesting and your blog covered it really well. It was really interesting and enjoyable to read. The objective take on the issue was great and you provided a factual representation of them as a whole. I also like how the information was displayed and conveyed because it made the blog much more readable and engaging.