Joker is Finally Getting Noticed
Many NBA fans think that with the injuries to Joel Embiid and LeBron James, Nikola Jokic will now step in as the most favorable MVP pick… Truth is, he has been the MVP all season. Why has it taken so long for people to realize this? Most likely because he does not have LeBron’s reputation, Embiid’s and Giannis’ physical presence, or Lillard’s and Harden’s self-promotion to bolster his MVP case. He isn’t flashy, or marketable, or even look like he should be an All-NBA player, but there has not been a moment all season that he shouldn’t have been viewed as the front runner for MVP.
Nikola Jokic: Advanced Stats God
If you look at almost any standard NBA stat, Jokic is in the top ten. Then if you dig a little deeper and look at any advanced stat, Jokic is even more impressive. Take a glance:
- Player efficiency rating – 34.4 (1st)
- Win shares – 10.7 (1st)
- Box plus/minus – 11.9 (1st)
- Value over replacement player – 5.8 (1st)
- Points per game – 26.8 (7th)
- Rebounds per game – 11.1 (8th)
- Assists per game – 8.5 (6th)
- Steals per game – 1.6 (8th)
- Minutes per game – 35.6 (9th)
- Double-doubles – 40 (1st)
- Triple-doubles – 12 (2nd)
- Offensive rating – 131.2 (5th)
WOW! If that list doesn’t scream MVP, nothing will. Advanced stats are perhaps the biggest sign that points to Jokic being the clear most valuable player this season. He leads every single player in the “Core 4” advanced stats; PER, win shares, Box +/-, and VORP. Not only that, but it isn’t even close. Jokic’s 34.36 PER is currently three and a half points better than the next closest player (Giannis Antetokounmpo at 30.87). Jokic leading the league in PER is a great case for MVP as eight of the last nine MVP winners have led the league in this statistic. His Box plus/minus is 3.3 points better than Joel Embiid and is in fact one of the six best Box plus/minus of all-time. His rating trails only the historic 08-09 LeBron James season, three Michael Jordan seasons, and Steph Curry’s iconic season. Additionally, his win shares demolish everyone at 10.7, with the next closest being the 7.4 win shares posted by Giannis. This is the widest win share margin since 2015, when Curry led the league and won the MVP unanimously. Jokic also bests Giannis’ 2ndplace VORP rating by a wide margin with Jokic sitting at a 5.8 and Giannis sitting at a 3.9.
Joel Embiid and LeBron James, the other two front-runners along with Jokic before their injuries, come nowhere near Jokic from an analytical standpoint. With both players likely to miss too many games to make up the difference at this point, who else has any chance to steal MVP from the Joker? The list is small and not promising: James Harden, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Damian Lillard.
The Silly Arguments Against Jokic
If your argument is that James Harden has been more impressive on Brooklyn and is more deserving of the MVP, I beg you to think back to the circus he was responsible for in Houston. Harden should not receive a single vote after completely bailing on the Rockets. Players cannot simply tank a franchise and force themselves into a better situation and then call themselves the best player in the league. Harden is not a team player and the first 8 games of the season and his behavior should not go unnoticed. Jokic, on the other hand, is one the most unselfish superstars in the entire league.
If your argument against Jokic is that you want the MVP to be a “two-way” player and do not think Jokic is good defensively, take a closer look at his defensive numbers. The idea that Jokic is a bad defender is a myth. This season, he has a defensive rating of 109.1, which is well above league average and actually the 25th best defensive rating in the entire league, among eligible players. Jokic is also 4th in the league in steals with 73, which is one more than known-elite-defender Kawhi Leonard and Nikola Jokic is 6th in the league with 2.3 defensive win shares. If defense is a concern for your MVP vote, Damian Lillard, who is a notoriously bad defender and James Harden, who is a below average one, are the two who should be crossed off your list.
If your argument for not having Jokic as the MVP is that the Nuggets are currently tied for the 4 seed and need to finish higher than that to have an MVP, don’t stress. The Nuggets have not lost since acquiring Aaron Gordon and are well on their way to finishing as a top 2-3 seed again in the much tougher Western Conference. Meanwhile Harden, Giannis, and Embiid get to enjoy playing in the lackluster and weaker Eastern Conference. Furthermore, even when the Nuggets were 7-7 to start the season, Jokic was the reason that they were staying afloat, averaging a triple-double through the first 14 games of the season. While the Nuggets have been riddled with injuries and COVID concerns, Jokic is the only Denver Nugget to play in every single game this season.
Lastly, If your argument is the Joker’s narrative isn’t as good as other players… one, you shouldn’t be voting based on that, and two, even if you are voting based on storylines, Giannis’ narrative is much bleaker than Jokic’s. Giannis is coming off of back to back MVP awards likely leading to voter fatigue. He has also underperformed in the playoffs the last two seasons and the Bucks are now arguably having their worst season of the past three years. Antetokounmpo is still trying to fill in holes in his game and the narrative that he won’t be able to win until he can shoot means that the Greek Freak doesn’t have a lot going for him for positive storylines. Jokic on the other hand has a great narrative. He has gone from an overweight, passive, goofy player the beginning of last season to an absolute beast who is striving for greatness. Jokic is in the best shape of his life and has improved his game every single season in the NBA, leading the Nuggets to their first Western Conference Finals in over a decade last season. He is not your proto-typical NBA star and he doesn’t care. He just dominates.
If Jokic is not the 2020-2021 NBA MVP, we have done a disservice to NBA fans around the world.
