Nikola Jokic (Denver Nuggets) named NBA Most Valuable Player

Serbian Denver Nuggets Center, Nikola Jokic, was voted as the best player of the 2021 NBA season, sources confirmed to ESPN.

Shams Al-Sharaniyah, from the sports web portal, was the first to share the information.

Jokic, the first center to win the award since then Shaquille O’Neal He did so in 2000, becoming the third European player to win it. Greek Giannis Antikonmo prevailed in the last two awards and Dirk Nowitzki He did that in 2007.

Moreover, Serbian is the least chosen (41) to make this distinction. This does not include Moses Malone, according to ESPN Data, who began his career with an ABA. Giannis and Steve Nash (15) was the lowest in the past.

He led Jokic Nuggets to third place in the Western Conference with a 47-25 record.

He averaged 26.4 points, 10.8 rebounds, and 8.3 assists. Similarly, he hits 56.6% from the field, 38.8% from the triple, and 86.8% from the free throw.

may have been Joel Embiid, who had the best season of his career and led Philadelphia to the best record in the Eastern Conference. But Embiid ended up missing 21 games during the regular season, about the only thing that could slow him down as he put in his career highest score in points per game (28.5) and all three shooting percentages (51.3% overall, 37.7% from 3 seconds). and 85.9% of the free throw line).

After Curry, a two-time winner of this award, missed all but three games last season after breaking his hand, he led the NBA in scoring for the second time in his career, averaging 32 points per game while shooting 42.1% from a hat-trick, 12.7 career high attempts from behind the arc in every match.

If there was any doubt that Curry was still among the elite in the game after most of the year out and in his thirties, they quickly dissipated.

The 33-year-old point guard almost single-handedly has kept Golden State’s attack afloat this season without him. Klay Thompson, who missed his second consecutive season due to injury, this time with a ruptured Achilles tendon.

ESPN’s Om Youngmisuk and Tim Bontemps contributed to this story.