Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid's dominant seasons prove NBA big men are back
By Melissa Rohlin
FOX Sports NBA Writer
For many years, the center position had lost its shine.
The league had gotten faster and more dynamic. The 3-point line was king. Centers had been left behind, dismissed as relics of the past. They had to morph into stretch-5s to stay relevant.
But this season, that all changed.
Two centers were engaged in an arms race for the MVP award, with Denver Nugget Nikola Jokic dazzling with his touch inside the paint and Philadelphia 76er Joel Embiid stunning defenders with his power.
On Tuesday, the NBA announced that Jokic overwhelmingly won the award, getting 91 of 101 first-place votes and 971 total points. Embiid finished second with 586 points.
It was a significant moment.
"Because of you, the big man is back," Shaquille O'Neal told Jokic on Tuesday on TNT's "Inside the NBA."
A true center hadn't won MVP since O'Neal himself claimed the honor in 2000. Over the past 20 seasons, the league belonged to more versatile positions instead of those inhabited by the towering 7-foot trees with the infamous "C" next to their names.
But now guys such as Jokic and Embiid have helped swing the pendulum, bringing attention back to a position that was often overlooked.
Jokic averaged 26.4 points, 10.8 rebounds and 8.3 assists, leading the Nuggets to the second round of the playoffs (at least), despite injuries to Jamal Murray, Will Barton and PJ Dozier. Jokic played in all 72 regular-season games, one of only 11 players to do that this season. He shot 56.6% from the field and 38.8% from beyond the 3-point line.
The surprising emergence of the 26-year-old from Serbia is well known by now. He was a lifelong underdog. He never even aspired to play in the NBA, instead setting his sights on the EuroLeague.
But after being selected by the Nuggets as the 41st pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, he went on to become the lowest draft pick in league history to win the MVP award. Before him, the lowest draft picks to earn that honor were current Nets coach Steve Nash and Giannis Antetokounmpo, who were both selected 15th overall.
"Nobody believed in me," Jokic told reporters in a videoconference Tuesday. "It's proving people wrong. Surprising the world."
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As for O'Neal's praise about Jokic bringing the MVP award back to a center, the Nuggets superstar humbly shrugged off that comment, saying, "position is something you decide."
He pointed to the fact that Antetokounmpo, the Milwaukee Bucks' 6-foot-10 superstar, plays forward, and Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James has often been a ball handler throughout his career, even though he’s a "big guy" at 6-foot-9, 250 pounds.
It's true that positions have become increasingly interchangeable, but that's the whole point. From the 1960s through the 1980s, the league was dominated by true centers such as Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
Then there was a shift, and smaller guys took over.
But Jokic and Embiid are helping turn the tide back the other way.
Embiid was just as dominant as Jokic when he was healthy, averaging 28.5 points and 10.6 rebounds, leading the 76ers to the top seed in the Eastern Conference. He would've challenged Jokic for the MVP award if he hadn't struggled with injuries, missing 21 games.
All in all, it's good for the league. It's cool to be a center again.
And the best part of it all is that the guy who made it cool is the unlikeliest of heroes.
Nuggets coach Michael Malone wore a T-shirt Tuesday with an image of Jokic surrounded by derogatory comments, including, "Too Skinny," "Can't Jump" and "Slow Feet."
When asked about his shirt, he said, "It speaks to all of the things that were said about Nikola before he won this MVP award."
He added that there's another message on the back.
"It says, 'MVP' and 'Joke's on you,'" he said.
Melissa Rohlin is an NBA writer for FOX Sports. She has previously covered the league for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Times, the Bay Area News Group and the San Antonio Express-News. Follow her on Twitter @melissarohlin.
