The Denver Nuggets won the first NBA championship in their 47-year franchise history on Monday, and to nobody's surprise Nikola Jokic was named Finals MVP after averaging 30.2 points, 14 rebounds 7.2 assists on 58/42/83 shooting splits against the Heat.
It was a performance in keeping with what goes down as the most statistically dominant postseason we've ever seen, as Jokic becomes the first player in history to lead the postseason in total points (600), rebounds (269) and assists (190).
"It's good," Jokic said in his immediate postgame interview when asked what it feels like to be a champion. "The job is done. We can go home now."
How can you not love this quote? I'm thinking about Kevin Garnett's "Anything is possible!" theatrics and juxtaposing them against Jokic's ho-hum reaction, and it's just hilarious. This guy truly doesn't care about the things we all love to care about in what has become an increasingly dramatic NBA product. Dude just goes about his business. Lets everyone else sort out the MVP and legacy talk while he heads home to the farm in Serbia, where he famously accepted his 2022 MVP award after rolling up in a horse-drawn buggy.
In fact, let's revisit that timeless, treasure of a moment as we attempt to fully appreciate what is now pretty undisputably the best basketball player in the world.
Surprise in Sombor✈️🇷🇸 We flew to Serbia to surprise the BACK-TO-BACK MVP! And, wow, this moment was special. pic.twitter.com/aFvIEDgnSj
— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) May 11, 2022
As for this season's run, have a look at some of Jokic's historic numbers as he joins, or forms on his own, a bevy of exclusive clubs.
- First player to lead postseason in total points, rebounds and assists
- Most triple-doubles in a single postseason (10)
- First player with 250 rebounds and 150 assists in a single postseason
- First player with a 30/20/10 Finals game
- First player with 25 points on 75% FG in Finals clincher
- First center since 2002 (Shaq) to win Finals MVP
- First center to lead champion in regular season PPG since 2002 (Shaq)
- Fifth player with 30 PPG, 10 RPG & 5 APG in a Finals series
- Eighth player with to win NBA MVP or Finals MVP in three straight seasons
- Lowest drafted player to lead NBA champion in regular season PPG (41st pick)
Somehow, these bullet points don't do Jokic justice. As probably a lot of people have found out over this postseason, you have to watch Jokic to truly understand just how great he is. Even his analytical, nerd-number dominance isn't enough to understand. That can be, and has been to varying degrees, dismissed. The eye test tells the tale. Nikola Jokic is one of a kind, and now he has the hardware to back up the fancy numbers.
