The race for this season’s NBA MVP was shaken up recently because of an injury to Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers.
Before that injury, it seemed that Embiid was well on his way to winning back-to-back MVPs, but he won’t play 65 games so he is excluded from earning that prize.
Now that Embiid is out, attention has been turned to another former MVP: Nikola Jokic.
Writing for The Athletic, Tony Jones said that Jokic is far and away the one to watch when it comes to the MVP.
“That Jokic, who had 32 points, 11 assists and 12 rebounds in the Denver Nuggets’ win over the Boston Celtics, is on track to win the third MVP of his career should also be obvious,” Jones wrote.
If we are being honest with ourselves, the NBA’s MVP race is over.
Thursday night at Ball Arena served as the expiration date for it being a competitive race.@Tjonesonthenba on Nikola Jokić's dominance ⤵️https://t.co/gDTurdo0e6 pic.twitter.com/NUzhSybo50
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) March 9, 2024
Jokic’s game against the Boston Celtics on Thursday was a masterclass from Jokic and more proof that he has rightfully earned another MVP trophy.
He scored 32 points, 12 rebounds, and 11 assists and it wasn’t the first time that he scored numbers like that.
Again and again this season, Jokic has notched triple-doubles and led his team.
He is averaging 26 points, 12.3 rebounds, 9.2 assists, and 1.2 steals this season.
That is mostly in line with the numbers he was producing when he was named MVP back in 2021 and 2022.
There is, of course, competition for MVP, and other players like Luka Doncic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Jayson Tatum, are all in the running for this highly-coveted prize.
But most people agree that it is Jokic’s to lose right now.
Beyond earning MVP, Jokic might also get his second championship ring this year.
The Nuggets have been surging lately and are positioning themselves to be the best team in the West once again.
It seems that any path to an NBA championship this year will have to go through Jokic.
NEXT: Nick Wright Says Only 1 Team Can Beat The Nuggets