Is Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets aiming to win the NBA’s unanimous MVP award?

The 2023 champion Denver Nuggets have been indifferent for the past 18 months. Last year, they made it through the regular season, but were unable to advance to the NBA Finals. However, Nikola Jokic, the cornerstone of the franchise, single-handedly fought his way to his third MVP title. The Nuggets have struggled early in the 24-25 season, but Jokic is having perhaps his best year yet.

What’s so discouraging about Serbia’s big-team campaign this year is the fact that the Nuggets have one of the thinnest depths of the team. And the depth of the team was one of their big strengths just 12 months ago. And simply because so much of the burden is on Jokic’s shoulders, not just offensively but defensively, his numbers have taken an astronomical jump. Joker has averaged a triple-double of 30 points in the 10 games he played this season. But the statistic that stands out about his season more than anything else is that the Nuggets had the highest offensive rating in NBA history when Njoku was on the court, and the lowest offensive rating in NBA history when Njoku was off the court. The fact is that it is.

There has only been one season in which a player was unanimously named MVP, and that was Stephen Curry in 2016. The Warriors were the best regular season team in NBA history that year, with Curry averaging 30 smooth shots and shooting 45% from deep. But instead of playing for the 73-9 Dubs this season, Jokic may be playing in a struggling Nuggets lineup that changes completely when the 29-year-old Serbian plays. Joker’s shooting splits are bound to decline over the year, but he’s still averaging 29.7 points, 13.7 rebounds, and 11.7 assists while shooting 56% from three, which is quite impressive. And these numbers look even more frightening when you consider that Shaquille O’Neal’s best PPG season was 99-00, when he averaged 29.7 points. Tim Duncan’s best RPG season was 02-03, when he averaged 12.9 boards per game, and Chris Paul’s best APG season was 07-08, when he averaged 11.6 assists. Nikola Jokic, on the other hand, single-handedly beat them all in one season.

Certainly grounds for a unanimous MVP season, right?