Nikola Jokić joins Bill Russell and Larry Bird as the only players to finish second or better in five or more MVP votes.
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There was Bill Russell. There was Larry Bird. And now, there’s Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokić.
By finishing second in this year’s Kia NBA MVP balloting behind only Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jokić became just the third player in NBA history with a top-two finish in five or more consecutive seasons.
He won the award in 2021, 2023 and 2024, plus was second in 2022 and again this year.
Russell and Bird, a pair of Boston Celtics greats, each were first or second in the balloting in six consecutive seasons.
Russell won in 1958, 1961, 1962 and 1963, while finishing second in 1959 and 1960. Bird was second in 1981, 1982 and 1983 before winning in 1984, 1985 and 1986.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1971-74) and Tim Duncan (2001-04) are the other players with four straight top-two finishes. Michael Jordan and LeBron James each had two different streaks of three consecutive top-two finishes in the voting — but never got past that.
Jokić had the sixth instance of a player finishing a season averaging a triple-double with 29.6 points, 12.7 rebounds and 10.2 assists per game. Only one of those seasons has led to an MVP win.
Oscar Robertson averaged a triple-double in 1961-62; he didn’t win MVP that year. Russell Westbrook did it four times and won the MVP award only once in that span.
And now, Jokic finished second after a season statistically like none other.
