When the 2014 National Basketball Association (NBA) draft rolled around, Nikola Jokic (29-Serbia) was a largely unheralded player. He had great hardware, but he didn’t move smoothly, and the Serbian game he was born into wasn’t quite up to NBA standards and needed to be proven. Jokic, who stands at 6-foot-11 with a 221-centimeter wingspan, was selected by the Denver Nuggets with the 41st pick in the second round of the draft, at which point the broadcasters stopped the game to cut to commercials and show little interest.

Once labeled as a “tall player,” Jokic took off and became a “do-it-all” player. He developed the ability to shoot from mid-range, as well as find an undefended player to pass to after breaking through the paint. When he found space, he could shoot from the perimeter, pulling defenders out of the paint to create openings, and he also developed the ability to block shots with his long arms. Jokic was nicknamed “The Joker,” meaning “a card that can be used anywhere,” and was named the league’s Most Valuable Player 먹튀검증 (MVP) in 2021 and 2022.

In 2023, Jokic had his best year yet. He led Denver to the top of the NBA and was named MVP of the championship game. However, Jokic failed to win the regular season MVP award for the third consecutive year. Jokic was forced to relinquish the MVP award to Joel Embiid (Philadelphia 76ers) due to public opinion that a stricter standard was needed to win back-to-back awards.

However, Jokic’s unwavering and consistent play has finally earned him a third star. On Monday, the NBA announced that Jokic was named the league’s MVP for the 2023-2024 season. Jokic totaled 926 points, including 79 first-place votes (10 points) out of 99 possible votes. Second place went to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Oklahoma City Thunder) with 640 points and third place went to Luka Doncic (Dallas Mavericks – 566 points).

Jokic became the ninth player to win three MVP awards in the NBA since its inception in 1946. Only LeBron James (40-Los Angeles Lakers) and Jokic have won three MVPs since the 2000s, when the NBA began to be recognized as the undisputed center of world basketball.

Despite winning the regular-season MVP, Jokic’s Denver is in trouble in the second round of the NBA playoffs (best-of-seven). The defending champions, who won the championship last season, dropped both Games 1 and 2 to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The Rookie of the Year honors went to French “rookie sensation” Victor Wembanyama (20-San Antonio Spurs). Wembanyama swept all 99 first-place votes and earned a career-high 495 points, easily edging out Chet Holmgren (Oklahoma City Thunder). It’s the sixth time the Rookie of the Year voting has been unanimous, joining David Robinson in 1990 and Blake Griffin in 2011. Wembanyama averaged 21.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 3.6 blocked shots in 71 games in his rookie season.

Minnesota’s Rudy Gobert (32-FR) won the Defensive Player of the Year award. It is Gobert’s fourth career award. The French native averaged 14 points, 12.9 rebounds and 2.1 blocked shots in 74 games this season. Led by Gobert, Minnesota played a stingy defense that allowed 106.5 points per game, the fewest among 30 teams this season. Gobert joins Dikembe Mutombo and Ben Wallace as the third players to win the Defensive Player of the Year award four times since it was established in 1983. This means that the MVP, Rookie of the Year, and Defensive Player of the Year awards in the NBA this season have all been won by European players.