Nikola Jokic was officially named the 2022 NBA MVP last night. The Denver Nuggets superstar received the award in his home country. Jokic was caught by surprise, as he rode in behind his horse on a two-wheeled cart at his stable in Serbia.
“It’s amazing, my horse and I were doing a fast workout in the afternoon instead of the morning and I was wondering why,” Jokic said on the NBA on TNT. “I saw everybody in the shirts. It was really emotional, a really emotional moment for me. Nobody came here before.”
Jokic became the latest international player to win the MVP award. The last four years, the award went to players born outside the United States. The 27-year-old Jokic averaged 27.1 points, 13.8 rebounds and 7.9 assists for team that played without its two max players Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr.
After picking him with the 41st pick in the 2014 draft, the Serbian superstar has exploded into the NBA stratosphere with his performances the last four seasons. This season, he became the first NBA player to eclipse 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds and 500 assists in a season.
“Probably when I’m old, fat, and grumpy, hopefully, I’m going to remember and tell my kids, ‘Back in the days, I was really good playing basketball’.”
Jokic joined a special club on his way to the second MVP award. Stephen Curry, LeBron James (twice), Nash, Tim Duncan, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Moses Malone and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (twice) won back-to-back.
“I don’t know what else you can say about Nikola at this point,” Michael Malone said in a statement.“He’s consistently improved his game, he’s consistently proven people wrong when they doubt him and he’s consistently the best player on the floor night in and night out.”
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