Nikola Jokić Reveals the Secret to Winning MVPs

There are only five players who have won more regular-season MVP awards than Nikola Jokić. The list is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Jordan, Bill Russell, LeBron James, and Wilt Chamberlain. That is an elite group of a handful of the greatest basketball players of all time. 

Winning multiple MVPs isn’t easy. Even legends like Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal have only won the award once. So, what is the trick to winning multiple MVP awards? 

Jokić was asked this in a recent interview, and his response showed just how humble Jokić is. 

"I think you have to have a good group of guys who support you. You need to have good chemistry and guys who trust you. So to get the MVP, I think you need to have a great group of guys with you.”

What’s interesting about Jokić’s comments is that of all the legends we have mentioned, his supporting cast has probably been the worst. Kareem, Jordan, and LeBron all played with multiple Hall of Famers during their careers. Jokić hasn’t really played with any. 

In fact, before this season, Jokić’s teammates had never been named to an All-Star team during their time with the Nuggets. Jamal Murray’s All-Star selection this year broke that streak. To put that in perspective, LeBron has played with seven different guys who have been named All-Stars while playing with LeBron. 

So, can Jokić really give credit to his teammates? He is, but he probably shouldn’t. Jokić has made himself a legend largely without any truly elite teammates beside him. That’s something that no other legends on the list of greats have done.