There was a lot of chatter around NBA circles about Nikola Jokic being the MVP or not.
Some people claimed that he wasn’t deserving of three consecutive MVPs.
The issue with that is that MVP voting shouldn’t be conditioned to other seasons; each year exists in a vacuum.
And truth be told, Jokic has been the best player on Earth by a landslide this season, and he proved it again by having one of the greatest performances of all time in Game 1 against the Los Angeles Lakers.
WHAT A NIGHT FOR THE JOKER 😮💨 pic.twitter.com/TJrM1HRv9n
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 17, 2023
Jokic torched an elite defender like Anthony Davis, putting up a whopping 34 points (on 70% shooting) to go along with 21 rebounds and 14 assists.
Needless to say, that prompted plenty of reactions on social media, with fans in awe and taking their hats off to the Denver Nuggets’ superstar.
He went off. I feel like it's Jokic's time, similar to how it was Giannis' time in '21.
— ᴀᴅᴍʙᴇᴀᴛᴢ.ᴄᴏᴍ (@ADMBEATZ) May 17, 2023
Jokic <AD
— Alejandro Ramirez (@ElLordalejandro) May 17, 2023
Jokic > Embiid and it's not close
— OddsJam (@OddsJam) May 17, 2023
This guy on Wilt Chamberlain status.
— 4TheDeadHomies (@UnknownBurner0) May 17, 2023
Imagine what you can do when the point guard doesn’t dribble out the majority of the shot clock, players stand around and then run the same play over and over.
— Jamie McGroarty⚽️ (@coachmcg11) May 17, 2023
Jokic doesn’t do a lot of talking, and he claimed he didn’t care about winning another MVP award.
He’s got a bigger trophy in mind, and the Nuggets are playing like the clear-cut favorite to take that Larry O’Brien award home.
Of course, getting past the Lakers and their suffocating and pesky defense is going to be a complicated task, but they’ve proven to be up to any challenge thus far this season.
Mike Malone’s team is well-coached and deep, and they have solid defenders to match up with the Lakers stars at every position.
Then again, they’ll only go as far as their star can take them, and Jokic seems poised to lead them to their very-first NBA Finals berth in franchise history.
NEXT: Skip Bayless Makes A Strong Statement About The Nuggets
