Nikola Jokic named NBA MVP for third time as Nuggets star joins exclusive club

Nikola Jokic has won the 2023-24 NBA's Most Valuable Player award .

It is the third time in four years the Denver Nuggets star has won the trophy, and he becomes the ninth player in history to have won the award at least three times.

Jokic ties Moses Malone, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird with three MVP awards. Only LeBron James, Wilt Chamberlain (four), Bill Russell, Michael Jordan (five) and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (six) have won the award more than the Serbian big man.

The 29-year-old garnered 79 first-place votes, which are worth 10 points; 18 second-place votes, worth seven; and two third-place votes, which are worth five. Overall Jokic's 926 total points beat out Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic , who came in second and third, respectively.

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Gilgeous-Alexander had 640 total points, accruing 15 first-place votes, 40 second-place votes, 40 third-place votes, three fourth-place votes - which are worth three points - and one fifth-place vote - which is worth one point. Meanwhile, Doncic had four first-place votes, 36 second-place votes, 50 third-place votes and eight fourth-place votes for a total of 566 points.

Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antentokounmpo and New York Knicks star guard Jalen Brunson rounded out the top five with 192 and 142 points, respectively. Speaking with Ernie Johnson, Shaquille O'Neal, Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley, Jokic explained what it meant to win the award for the third time in his already-sparkling career.

"You've got to start with the teammates, without them, I can do nothing," Jokic said to the NBA on TNT crew . "Coaches, players, [the] organization, medical staff, strength coaches, development coaches, are all one big circle that I cannot be where I am without them."

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Jokic also acknowledged how many pundits, including O'Neal, were expecting Gilgeous-Alexander to win his first MVP award. "No for real, I think there is a lot of people, a lot of players, that deserve it," the Serbian star added.

On the year, Jokic averaged 26.4 points, 12.4 rebounds and 9.0 assists per game for the Nuggets. Both Denver and Oklahoma City shared the same record and Gilgeous-Alexander averaged more points than Jokic, which makes sense as to why many believed Gilgeous-Alexander was the rightful winner of the award .

However, Jokic's Player Efficiency Rating (PER) - which is defined as the overall rating of a player's per-minute statistical production, with the league average being 15.0 - of 31.26 was second in the league, behind Joel Embiid (34.38). Gilgeous-Alexander was fourth (29.57).

With Jokic having won his third MVP award, now his and Denver's focus turns to beating the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 3 of the Western Conference semifinals. The Nuggets currently are winless in the series , thanks to the Timberwolves' stifling defense, which ranked No. 1 in the regular season.

The Nuggets will fly to Minnesota for Game 3 in hopes of pushing the series to at least five games. That task is easier said than done as Jamal Murray is nursing a leg injury that has severely hampered his ability to play to the level he is capable of reaching.

Overall, the Nuggets will need Murray to be close to full strength if Denver wants to keep its hopes of a title defense alive. Still, Denver has the three-time NBA MVP to lead them to a win if need be.