It’s official: Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets is the NBA MVP for the second year in a row.
After months of rumor and speculation, Jokic beat out the biggest competition of Joel Embiid and Giannis Antetokounmpo.
It’s not often that players win back-to-back MVP trophies.
It’s also not often that a center claims the biggest honor in the league.
Centers in NBA history with multiple MVPs:
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Bill Russell
Wilt Chamberlain
Moses Malone
Nikola Jokic pic.twitter.com/ecaTS3Xj7y— StatMuse (@statmuse) May 9, 2022
In fact, the number of centers with multiple MVPs is very small.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Moses Malone, and now Jokic are the only big men with a few MVPs.
This fact makes Jokic’s accomplishment even more impressive and special.
Most Valuable Jokic
Why are centers not known for winning MVP again and again?
The position is obviously very important for a functioning basketball team, so what gives?
Centers aren’t as showy as other players on the floor.
More often, they are used as a tool to grab rebounds and produce powerful dunks.
It’s often easier to overlook a center because they are sometimes more functional even when scoring a lot and putting up awesome numbers.
The thing that’s so special about Jokic is that he is a center but sometimes plays like multiple other positions.
He passes better than nearly any other center in NBA history, like a point guard, and has also been perfecting his shot, like a guard or forward.
Jokic doesn’t fit the typical mold of a center and that’s one of the things that makes him so special.
In many ways, Jokic is like a combination of every player on a basketball team.
It’s not every day you see someone with his skillset.
He has now won two MVP trophies but if he keeps playing like this it won’t be his last.
NEXT: NBA World Reacts To The Nikola Jokic News