2021 NBA MVP: Nikola Jokic Wins His First MVP

He averaged 26.4 points, 8.3 assists, and 10.8 rebounds. All career highs, apart from rebounding where he matched his career-high.

The three-time All-Star led the Nuggets to the third seed in the Western Conference. He did this despite the team facing a serious injury to their point guard, Jamal Murray.

Without Murray, Jokic continued to perform at a high level and managed to finish with a high seed. The Nuggets had a 16-8 record without Murray during the 2020-21 season.

2021 NBA MVP: Why Jokic Over the Other MVP Finalists?

Jokic beat the other MVP finalists Joel Embiid and Stephen Curry to the award. What separates Jokic from the rest is consistency.

Jokic led the Nuggets to the third seed and played all 72 regular-season games. Whilst Embiid only played 51 games, due to injury.

While Embiid had a great season, it’s difficult to put him above someone who has played at a high level for the entire season.

His other competitor for the award was Curry. He had a great season leading the league in scoring with 32 points per game.

However, it is difficult to award the 2021 NBA MVP to someone who only finished 8th in the Western Conference and missed playoffs due to the Play-In Tournament.

Jokic winning the 2021 NBA MVP is more than deserved. There is no one in the league like him and you can’t find anyone that played at such a high level as frequently as he did.

He is a center averaging 8.3 assists a game and shooting 38.8% from three. It’s hard to deny him from collecting his first MVP award this year.

Jokic was the 41st pick in the 2014 draft. He is now the lowest ever draft pick to win the MVP award.

He is also the third none-lottery pick to win the award, joining Steve Nash and Giannis Antetokounmpo.

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