LeBron James and Bill Russell are the only players in NBA league history that has won four regular season MVP awards in five years. Nikola Jokic can potentially join them at the end of this season. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar won four in six years. And Michael Jordan won four in eight years during his dominant run. Will Jokic do it at the end of the season? It is not out of the realm of possibility. Of course, we are not having a LeBron James vs. Nikola Jokic discussion. But the Serbian player is close to achieving a rare feat.
Nikola Jokic Could Replicate LeBron James’ Success
Speaking on the latest Hoop Collective podcast, Brian Windhorst mentioned a stat that shows just how valuable Jokic is to the Denver Nuggets. Yes, if you watch the team play it is evident that everything revolves around Jokic, but this stat is incredible. Here is what Brian said,
“When he is on the court. the Nuggets are 31 points per 100 possessions better on offense than when he’s off. For every hundred times they bring up the ball without him, they score 31 points fewer. I went and looked up because the last player to win four out of five MVPs was LeBron James. I went and looked at what the biggest differential was for him, and it was one year with the Cavs, it was ‘15. So when LeBron was at the peak of his powers winning four MVPs in five years, he was half as impactful on his team offensively as Jokic.”
Winning four out of five regular season MVP awards will put Jokic in special company. With his fourth MVP award, he will join Russell, Kareem, Jordan, Wilt Chamberlain, and LeBron as players with four MVP awards.
Are the Nuggets too Dependent on Jokic?
Nikola Jokic leads the NBA in touches per game with 115.8 according to NBA stats. The fun part is that out of the top nine players on that list, only Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Jalen Johnson are not point guards. In fact, Johnson is second with 96 touches per game.
The stat that Windhorst mentioned perfectly paints the picture of the Denver Nuggets. They lack offensive fluidity without their MVP player and miss his production. They do not have a clear backup center and cannot get enough rebounds.
Who Can Challenge Jokic for the MVP?
We have to go through the usual suspects, Giannis, Jayson Tatum, Luka Doncic, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Out of those four, Tatum and Shai seemingly have the most realistic chance to beat out Jokic for MVP.
Giannis also averages impressive numbers, leading the league in points with 32.1. Yet, his team was among the worst in the East just a week ago. The Bucks have been in too big of a hole to get out and challenge the top two spots in the East. The Nuggets are fifth currently in the West, but they do have a winning record.
Shai can make a case for the MVP with his averages of 28.7 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 6.3 assists. The Thunder are the favorites to win the West, and if they do it for a second year in a row, it will be hard to ignore Shai and his contributions.
Luka was among the preseason favorites, but his production has fallen. He averages 28.1 points per game, 7.6 rebounds, and 7.6 assists on 43.5% shooting.
Will Jokic Win his Fourth MVP?
This year, Jokic is doing something even more impressive. As of November 22th, he averages more points than Shaquille O’Neal in his prime (29.7), more rebounds than Tim Duncan in his prime (13.7), and more assists than Chris Paul in his prime (11.7) according to Fadeaway World. Nobody has ever done that. It just speaks volumes to the sheer dominance of the Nuggets big man.
We will not have a Nikola Jokic vs. LeBron James discussion even with a fourth MVP for the Serbian player. But he will replicate one of LeBron’s most impressive achievements, four MVPs in five seasons.
