NBA MVP Nikola Jokic smiles and waves to the crowd after beating Minnesota earlier in the season. (Photo: Jordan Johnson/Getty Images)
Tuesday afternoon in a team meeting in Phoenix, Nuggets Head Coach Michael Malone had a short-lived charade where he said, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver "wanted to go over a few things," and a few minutes later, Silver appeared on screen and announced to the entire Nuggets team that Nikola Jokic had been named the MVP of the 2020-2021 NBA Season.
Malone was extremely happy to help orchestrate the ruse and had no problem hiding his joy for Jokic winning the MVP. "He's totally selfless," Malone said. "Passing up good shots, to get someone a great shot. One of the more underrated stars in the NBA...I told him today that I love him, that we have a special relationship, and I couldn't be happier for him. Malone was wearing a Jokic t-shirt with all of the criticisms of the Joker and the "mic drop" as he put it on the back. They almost certainly will be the hottest clothing item in Denver in short order.
Malone also acknowledged what the award means for the Nuggets organization and the city of Denver, "Everyone in the organization shares in the award," he said." "He couldn’t do all the things he’s done without the help fo his teammates, the coaches, the training staff…I think that’s why we’re all so excited, because this is a Denver Nuggets award, led by Nikola Jokic."
And Joker's head coach added that this encompasses more than just this season, "you just can't look at Nikola winning the MVP this season, because you do him a disservice," Malone added. "I think you need to look back at the 83 days in Orlando...then he went home for 2 months, never took a day off, and played all 72 games. We're the only team from the Final Four in Orlando still playing in the playoffs...That young man is exhausted, he won't tell ya, I'll tell ya, he is physically and mentally exhausted...continuing to prove people wrong, and I think we do that better than anybody."
Jokic (Serbia) is the 6th player born outside the 50 states to win MVP joining Giannis Antetokounmpo (Greece), Hakeem Olajuwon (Nigeria), Steve Nash (South Africa), Tim Duncan (Virgin Islands) and Dirk Nowitzki (West Germany). As the 41st player in the 2014 draft, he becomes the only 2nd round player to win the award. The previous lowest player selected was a tie between Antentokounmpo and Nash who both were select 15th in their respective drafts.
Jokic received 91 of the possible 100 first place votes. Warriors guard Steph Curry finished a distant 2nd with 5 1st place votes. Here's a look at the full voting breakdown.
Shortly after the announcement, Jokic, met the media via zoom, and said he was a little relieved that the award was handed out and now he can go back to focusing on playing basketball and trying to be the Phoenix Suns. "To be honest, yes," Jokic said. When asked what his motivation was to put in the NBA season, Joker meander through an answer, the whole bubble experience, we play really good...we had 2 months off, then the next season came. I think the biggest thing is I started really well…that good start lead me through the whole season.” then he said, "I don’t know what motivated me." But on the following question it dawned "I'd rather win a championship than be MVP."