National Basketball Association

Nikola Jokić joins exclusive group with 2nd straight MVP

Updated May. 9, 2022 1:09 p.m. ET

Denver’s Nikola Jokić has won his second consecutive Most Valuable Player award after a season in which he finished with numbers never before seen in NBA history, a person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press.

The 27-year-old averaged 27.1 points, 13.8 rebounds and 7.9 assists on a team that was missing two max players in Jamal Murray (ACL) and Michael Porter Jr. (back). He guided the Nuggets to a 48-win season and the No. 6 seed in the West, before losing in five games to the Golden State Warriors in the opening round of the playoffs.

That was enough in the eyes of voters to beat out the other finalists — Philadelphia center Joel Embiid, who led the league in scoring average, and two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo of the reigning champion Milwaukee Bucks.

The NBA was preparing to make the announcement in the coming days, likely this week, according to the person who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity Monday because the voting results have not been announced.

Jokić joins rarefied company as only the 13th player to win back-to-back MVPs. The other players to win two in a row include Antetokounmpo, Stephen Curry, LeBron James (twice), Steve Nash, Tim Duncan, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Moses Malone and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (twice). Larry Bird, Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell each won the award in three straight seasons.

Next year, Jokić will have his chance at a three-peat as well.

But according to "First Things First's" Nick Wright, the opportunity to earn a trifecta is not one that Jokić deserves.

"I took my time to do research, study and care about league MVP through 70 years of NBA history," Wright said on the show.

"And now it's just a thing. Once, this really mattered. I know it's a regular-season award, but I was told this season by the people who voted for Jokić that he had a better defensive impact than Embiid and Giannis. I was told by the folks that vote on this award that he and Luka [Dončić] are in different stratospheres. Does it look like Jokić has more of an impact on the game than Luka? Good job voters, I hope the VORP gods reward you at the pearly gates, 'cause the real NBA watchers will not."

Chris Broussard couldn't understand the analytics-driven mindset of those who voted for Jokić either.

"I had him third on my ballot," Broussard revealed.

"He had a great year, no doubt about it. If you look at the history since sportswriters have been voting since 1981, no guy has won it that low since Russell Westbrook in 2017. I don't think this belittles the MVP award. However, what's happened is now you have a lot of voters who are completely into analytics. And that's the problem to me."

Antoine Walker didn't agree with the selection either.

"I had Giannis," Walker said.

"If Giannis wasn't going to win it, Embiid should have gotten it. I think he could've got it last year, and was deserving of it this year. And I think he did the necessary things to get it when I think about what he had to deal with, with the Ben Simmons situation. He stayed consistent throughout the whole season, and he played. The one question mark around him was his health. He gave them the best opportunity to win."

Jokić, not Embiid, wins MVP for second straight season

Despite a disappointing postseason, the Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokić has pulled off a great NBA achievement: for the second consecutive season, he has been voted MVP. Nick Wright shares his thoughts on the award.

The award is likely the start of a huge offseason for Jokić, who is eligible for a supermax extension that could guarantee him nearly $254 million over five seasons starting with 2023-24. He’ll make $32.4 million next season.

Reporting by the Associated Press.