Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets celebrates after winning Game 5 against the Los Angeles Lakers on April 29, 2024, at Ball Arena in Denver.
Nikola Jokic may not care much for individual accolades, but that hasn't stopped him from collecting them.
The Denver Nuggets star added to his trophy room on Wednesday when he was named the 2023-24 NBA MVP, marking the third time he has earned the honor in the last four seasons.
Jokic earned 79 first-place votes, putting him well ahead of fellow MVP finalists Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder (15) and Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks (four).
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The only other player to receive a first-place vote was Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Jokic is the ninth player in NBA history to win three MVPs, joining Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (6), Bill Russell (5), Michael Jordan (5), Wilt Chamberlain (4), LeBron James (4), Moses Malone (3), Larry Bird (3) and Magic Johnson (3).
The Serbian center earned his first two MVP awards in 2020-21 and 2021-22 before placing second in 2022-23 voting behind Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid. He more than made up for it in the 2023 postseason, though, earning NBA Finals MVP honors after leading the Nuggets to their first NBA championship.
NBA
The 29-year-old center had another remarkably efficient regular season in 2023-24. He averaged 26.4 points per game, 12.4 rebounds per game and 9.0 assists per game while posting 25 triple-doubles.
Denver finished as the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference with a 57-25 record. Jokic and Co. cruised to a gentleman's sweep over the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round of the NBA playoffs but have gotten off to a concerning start to their second-round series, falling into a 2-0 hole after dropping consecutive home games to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
