Nikola Jokic Should Be The 2022 NBA MVP. Get Over It.
Last season, Nikola Jokic won the MVP award, to much chagrin. Casuals claimed that Jokic didn’t deserve it. I remember a certain someone, who isn’t worth my breath, saying that he is the worst MVP in the history of the NBA. Simply laughable. I am sure that Jokic saw all this and used it as motivation to come out this year and play even better. Oh my god, did he do that in spades. Last season was one of the greatest seasons in NBA history, and he somehow managed to top it this season. Let’s break down why Nikola Jokic is the clear MVP.
Look at the stats:
- 2020-2021 Season
- 26.4 PPG
- 10.8 RPG
- 8.3 APG
- 2021-2022 Season
- 27.1 PPG
- 13.8 RPG
- 7.9 APG
Increase in points. Massive jump in rebounds. Still the clear leader in assists for big men. Want to know how big of a gap there is? Nikola Jokic finished 8th in the entire league in assists, the next closest big man is Joel Embiid who averaged 4.2, good enough for 68th in the league. Jokic is the greatest passing big man of all time. No debate there. His vision is that of a point guard, and probably even better. He is a guard trapped in a big man’s body. I mentioned Joel Embiid before, let’s get into that.
The debate at this point is between Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid, but I’m sorry but there is no debate. Let’s look at the numbers.
Yes, Embiid led the league in scoring. Who cares. I don’t care if you can score more if you can’t compete in any other metric there is to measure. Embiid is not a team guy, while Jokic is team first. You could argue that Jokic needs to be more selfish! Well Garrett, what about their records? The 76ers are the 4th seed in the East, which is higher than the Denver Nuggets! His team is better therefore he is better! Let’s get into that next.
Yes, the Philadelphia 76ers finished 51-31, placing 4th in the Eastern Conference. He also played with a fairly healthy roster all season and finished the year with James Harden, who they traded for mid-season. They should be the better team! The Nuggets missed Jamal Murray for the entire season and Michael Porter Jr. only played 9 games before being shut down with a back injury. That should’ve derailed this team. It would’ve derailed most teams! Except most teams don’t have the MVP Nikola Jokic. He led this team to a 48-34 record, finishing 6th in the Western Conference. So the argument is invalid because, with less talent, the Nuggets finished 3 games behind the 76ers.
But Garrett, a 6th seed can never win the MVP! That’s too low! Let’s get into that.
Kareem Abdul-Jabar in 1975-1976 won league MVP and his team finished 9th! His team didn’t even make the playoffs! Moses Malone won it and his team went 47-35. Want me to be specific? Russell Westbrook won MVP in 2016-2017, that team finished 6th in the Western Conference, and his team was bounced 4-1 in the first round against the Houston Rockets. I don’t want to hear this nonsense about his team finishing too low in the Western Conference to win the MVP this year. If Nikola Jokic hadn’t been on this team, with these injuries they would be vying for a high pick in the upcoming NBA Draft.
All the casuals will try and tell you someone like Joel Embiid or Giannis Antetokounmpo should win the MVP this year. Oh, their team finished better. Oh, they made more of an impact. Garrett, Embiid led the league in scoring. Shut up. No one cares about leading the league in scoring. Nikola Jokic has a debate about having the GREATEST SEASON IN NBA HISTORY a year after also having that claim! I might be a Denver Nuggets fan, but I am also a rational NBA fan. Don’t believe me? I picked the Golden State Warriors to win their series in 6. I am rational.
Nikola Jokic absolutely should win the 2021-2022 NBA MVP. Not only that, it should be near-unanimous. Don’t let the talking heads on your screens change your mind that the stats don’t matter. They absolutely matter. They have never mattered more. If you disagree about who should win the MVP this year, maybe you should reevaluate your knowledge of the NBA and reaccess if you actually understand the sport.
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