Jokic robbed of third straight MVP, but he and Nuggets have bigger dreams

Nuggets star Nikola Jokic will not join Larry Bird, Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell as the only three-peat MVPs in NBA history.

76ers center Joel Embiid was announced as the winner of the Michael Jordan Trophy for 2022-23 league MVP on Tuesday night. Jokic finished second with Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo getting third.

Joel Embiid is the first player to win the Kia NBA MVP Award with the 76ers since Allen Iverson in the 2000-01 season.

Complete voting results ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/kko3o8tmxi

— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) May 2, 2023

Embiid had an awesome season, again leading the NBA in points per game. His averages of 33.1 points, 10.2 rebounds and 4.2 assists on 55% shooting placed him among the best seasons ever by a center. But Embiid only played 66 games and became the first player to appear in fewer than 70 games to hoist the trophy since the 1970s when voting changed to be decided by the media.

One of the game’s Embiid missed was down the stretch against the Nuggets, where he ducked Jokic with a supposed calf injury. Embiid is currently hurt for the 76ers playoff run, but his team knocked off the Celtics in Boston without him in Monday’s Game 1 of the second round.

Meanwhile, Jokic had another unreal season, and perhaps the best of his career. Leading the West’s best Nuggets, the star center nearly averaged a triple-double, tallying a league-high 29 on the year. His league-best 70% true shooting pushed Jokic to league-bests in nearly every single advanced stat like Player Efficiency Rating, Win Shares, VORP and more.

Jokic himself said he had zero interest in the award. And after the race for it became super toxic, what Jokic said seemingly was backed by his end of the regular season, where he sat a bunch and ended with a career-low 69 games played.

But Jokic also had bigger goals in mind. While Embiid campaigned for the trophy and made it a priority, the Nuggets star stayed locked in on a ring. And while Embiid’s health is currently hurting his team, Jokic scored 39 on Monday to give the Nuggets a 2-0 lead on the Suns in the second round.

If Jokic had to, he would trade the chance at another MVP for a chance at a title. The thing is, Jokic probably should’ve gotten the MVP this season — and a chance to capture his first ring as well.

One would certainly mean a lot more than the other, with the Nuggets just 10 wins away from making a championship a reality.

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