Over the course of 72 games, Jokic spread the assists to 17 different teammates his most frequent connections were with Michael Porter Jr. Whether its finding a cutter beating a defender back door, throwing a cross-court skip pass for a corner three, or launching a touchdown pass from the back court to a streaking teammates leaking out on the fast break, Jokic can make every pass in the book. Jokic joins Wilt Chamberlain as the only two players 6-foot-10 or taller to average at least seven assists per game - Jokic has now done it three times to Wilt’s two. Jokic finished third in the NBA in total assists (599) and sixth in assists per game (career-high 8.3) as he cemented his reputation as the best passing big man in the game today - and arguably ever. With Jokic serving as the fulcrum of Denver’s offense (we’ll expand on that shortly) having him in the lineup night in and night out was a huge benefit for coach Michael Malone and the Nuggets - especially after the team lost Jamal Murray to a torn ACL in mid-April. Jokic finished third in total minutes played (2,488) behind New York’s Julius Randle and RJ Barrett. Jokic becomes the first MVP winner since Kobe Bryant in 2008 to play in every game of a season. He was one of only 11 players (out of 540 that suited up in an NBA game this season) to play in all 72 games. In addition to his scoring (26.4 ppg), rebounding (10.8 rpg) and playmaking (8.3 apg) abilities - all career-highs - Jokic also showcased a key ability during the compressed and shortened season due to the COVID-19 pandemic: availability. Let’s take a closer look at Jokic’s MVP season with four stats that helped him stand out from the rest of the field.

He became the lowest-drafted player ( 41st pick in 2014) to win MVP honors he became the first Denver Nugget and first Serbian born player to win the award and he’s the first center to win MVP since Shaquille O’Neal in 2000. Nikola Jokic made plenty of history when he was named the 2020-21 Kia NBA Most Valuable Player on Tuesday night. Nikola Jokic finished third in total assists (599) as he cemented his reputation as the best passing big man in the NBA.

Jokic stats