The Denver Nuggets are playoff bound once again this season, with Nikola Jokic and company locking up the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference and looking like legitimate title contenders.
Along with the Nuggets hoping to win it all this season, Jokic is in the running for a third straight NBA MVP award after a regular season in which he came very close to averaging a triple-double.
Although the regular-season award will likely go to Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers, there’s still a chance Jokic could win it, which isn’t sitting well with veteran center DeMarcus Cousins.
Cousins believes that a third straight MVP for Jokic would put him in the greatest-of-all-time conversation, and he’s not ready to do that for the Nuggets superstar, as he told Kevin Garnett on the latest episode of KG Certified via NBA Central.
Demarcus Cousins says he’s not comfortable with Nikola Jokic winning three MVPs in a row because that would put him in the G.O.A.T conversation
“He hasn’t won anything.”
(Via @shobasketball )
— NBACentral (@TheNBACentral) April 10, 2023
If Jokic got 3 MVPs and no rings he'd be looked the same way as Steve Nash……y'all kinda overrate the MVPs a bit too much
— PLAYOFF BOUND knicks fan (@Rgbexe_) April 10, 2023
interesting , especially coming from a guy who was his backup
— ❄️⛹🏿♂️ (@IcyEmbeast) April 10, 2023
it wouldn’t put him in goat convos considering it’s a regular season award voted on by the media
— SAGE (@MasterSage_) April 10, 2023
He won a lot of regular season games and had great regular season stats for a regular season award.
— SC90210 (@goCDSDS) April 10, 2023
Cousins does bring up a good point, as Jokic will join select company if he wins a third straight MVP award.
Only Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain and Larry Bird have won three consecutive MVP awards in the NBA.
Obviously, that’s a group of top-tier legends in league history, and although Jokic won’t stick out like a sore thumb in that group, he hasn’t accomplished nearly enough to be considered in the same category, with all three of those players being champions.
It’ll be interesting to see what the narrative turns out to be if Jokic wins the regular-season award this year and the impact it will have if he can’t win it all this season.
NEXT: Chris Broussard Explains Why The Media Ranks Nikola Jokic As NBA's Best Player
