Nikola Jokic led the NBA in touches this season at 101.1 per game. He touched the ball 95 times last night in Game 1 vs. the Lakers and turned it over 0 times -- while facing double and varied defensive coverages all night.
The most prestigious award of the league, the 2023-24 NBA MVP will come off these three final candidates, all of them coming from the elite Western Conference: Denver Nuggets' Nikola Jokic, Dallas Mavericks' Luka Doncic and OKC's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
The frontrunner is this MVP race is none other than Nikola Jokic. The serbian center has been playing out of his mind for a long time now. He's the reigning finals MVP, he dominated last years' playoffs and up until today, the NBA is still figuring out how to stop him. On his last show, the Joker dropped 32 points against the Los Angeles Lakers, alongside with 12 rebounds.
Nikola played 79 games in the regular season, averaging 26.4 points, 12.4 rebounds and 9 assists, shooting 58% from the field. Denver finished as the Western second seeded, only behind Shai's OKC.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander wrapped up an extraordinary campaign with the Oklahoma City Thunder. OKC finished as the top team in the Western Conference. That's a huge deal for a young team like them and they've couldn't have accomplished that if it weren't for Shai's elite presence. Gilgeous-Alexander played 76 games, torching night after night the NBA's bests teams.
His poise and calm while attacking the basket overshadows how deadly he really is. His numbers are amazing: 30.1 points, 5.5 rebounds and 5.2 assists, shooting nearly 54% from the field and 35% from beyond the arc.
Finally, Luka Doncic is the third outstanding candidate. The Dallas Mavericks had their struggles throughout the regular season, especially in the first half. However, Luka Doncic produced consistantly. Year after year, the Wonder Boy continues to demonstrate why he is considered one of the bests players in the world.
He's proven that he can score at will, just like he did on January 26 against the Atlanta Hawks when he registered 73 points. The Mavs played a very good second half of the season, finishing fifth overall. Perhaps Dallas' final record hurts Luka's chances to win the award, but still it's been another phenomenal campaign for the young star. His numbers are something else, 33.9 points, 9.2 rebounds and 9.8 assists.
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