American NBA journalists and statisticians continuously uncover incredible data, and this time it revolves around the number “30”.
Just two days ago, Nikola Jokic was named the NBA’s Most Valuable Player for the third time in his career. If Joel Embiid hadn’t taken the MVP award the previous competitive year, according to many undeservedly, today we would be talking about four consecutive trophies awarded to the most valuable player “across the pond”, but we shouldn’t overlook this achievement either.
There are always critics like Shaquille O’Neal, who congratulated the Serbian with a message that the MVP should have been Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Even in those moments, Nikola Jokic remained calm and, in his style, responded with humor, although he had grounds to be much ruder.
Gilbert Arenas has been throwing venomous darts at the Denver Nuggets’ superstar for some time now, and many wonder if he does it for his own publicity or if it’s genuinely an incredible dose of antipathy towards the Serbian center.
Dogs bark, but the caravan moves on
Even American journalists believe that at a deficit of 2-0 in the Western Conference semifinals against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Nikola Jokic must take many more shots and play like a true MVP.
But let’s put all that aside and rely on one parameter that many, when they see it, can only bow to the champion. Over a month ago, Nikola Jokic was the subject of discussion even in Balkan circles, where some individuals cited names from the former Yugoslavia who supposedly had better careers than the Serbian.
When absolutely all aspects are taken into account and the way he entered the NBA, now almost nine years ago, it’s hard for anyone to “polish water” for him. From the third center of the team whose stay was questionable, to the first violin. To the individual who led the Denver Nuggets to the NBA championship title from the shadows.
To the man who won the MVP award for the best player in the final series. And to the first title in the history of the Colorado team. Even to the fact that this season they matched the best regular season record in the club’s history (57-25).
The magical number – 30
Nikola Jokic is still not yet 30 years old. He celebrated his 29th birthday on February 19th and has a few more months to solidify certain parameters of the NBA league at the very top. He has already done so, but there is no doubt that he will further improve his statistics.
Why do we say this?
Well, it’s because before turning 30, Nikola Jokic achieved the following:
Scored over 15,000 points Recorded over 8,000 rebounds
Registered over 5,000 assists
Won three MVP awards
Hoisted the trophy awarded to the most valuable player of the final series
And he did all of this before turning 30. Again, why do we emphasize this?
Because no one has ever achieved this in the history of the NBA before turning 30.
Never anyone
And let’s emphasize something else of great importance. Nikola Jokic accomplished all of this in just under nine seasons. During that period, he didn’t have any “All-Star” appearances from teammates. He didn’t have any players on his team who were members of the NBA league’s best five. No members of the league’s best defensive five.
If it wasn’t clear to someone before, it should be now.