(Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images)
The past couple of years have been a coming-out party for Nikola Jokic.
During the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons, the Denver Nuggets superstar center was named the NBA’s regular-season MVP, but there were still plenty of people who doubted he was the game’s best player.
But this past season, he fully emerged by nearly averaging a triple-double in the regular season, then leading the Nuggets to the world championship and claiming NBA Finals MVP honors.
Now Jokic can add another honor to his resume, as he has won the ESPY for Best NBA Player, via NBA on ESPN.
Nikola Jokic is taking home the award for the ESPYS Best NBA Player pic.twitter.com/6Q914mWGlA
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) July 11, 2023
In the NBA, it is rare to see players who weren’t first-round draft picks become stars, but Jokic hasn’t just done that — he has become arguably the best in the game despite being the No. 41 pick in the 2014 draft.
Back then, people thought he was slow and couldn’t jump and that he wouldn’t amount to much.
But the Serbian native has put in lots of work, and now he seems to have combined Larry Bird’s outside shooting and passing ability with the immovable post presence and rebounding prowess of Moses Malone.
Jokic has made the All-Star team in each of the last five seasons after averaging just 10 points a game as a rookie, and at age 28, a lot of his accomplishments could lie ahead in the years to come.
Many people feel the Nuggets have dynastic potential, as key teammates such as Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr., and Aaron Gordon are all young and seemingly hungry for more.
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