Kia MVP Ladder: Nikola Jokic edges out Joel Embiid for No. 1

Perched on a stool sporting a fresh fade for the playoffs, Nikola Jokic addressed local media after practice Thursday as Denver awaits its opening-round opponent in the Western Conference bracket of the NBA playoffs.

Admitting he’d “rather play right away” than wait until after Friday’s AT&T Play-In Tournament clash between Oklahoma City and Minnesota, the two-time Kia MVP was later asked whether the 2022-23 regular season had proven to be a trying time for the eighth-year veteran.

“Most of the time,” the reporter quickly responded when Jokic asked, “Do you like your job?”

“The center retorted, “It’s a job, just like yours. Therefore, if you find enjoyment in it, then I do too.”

Jokic certainly made that clear on the floor during the regular season, as the five-time NBA All-Star followed up back-to-back historic MVP campaigns with yet another gem in finishing as the only player to ever average at least 20 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists on at least 60% shooting over a single season. The league leader in triple-doubles (29), who perched his team atop the Western Conference for a season-best 105 days, Jokic became Denver’s all-time single-season leader in field goal percentage (63.2%), effective field goal percentage (66%) and true shooting (70.1%) this season, while topping the leaderboard in a plethora of advanced metrics too.

Jokic earned this writer’s official MVP vote for the third-straight year in finishing the 2022-23 season at No. 1 in the Kia Race to the MVP Ladder. Potential historical implications (Larry Bird is the last player to win three straight MVPs) were ignored along with the fact that Jokic already owns two MVPs while Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid hasn’t captured any. This decision came down solely to this writer’s definition of “most valuable,” and Jokic fit that description to a T in a strong field that included two other worthy candidates in Giannis Antetokounmpo and Embiid, who is likely to walk away with the NBA’s first Michael Jordan Trophy over the summer once the “Inside the NBA” crew announces the results.

Embiid mounted a powerful surge towards the end of the season, similar to the performance of the Nuggets’ center in the 2021-22 season. The latter had averaged 38 points in his last four games, along with 17.5 rebounds and six assists, leading him to win his second consecutive MVP.

Embiid concluded 2022-23 with his second consecutive scoring title, and was honored as the Eastern Conference Player of the Month for his performances in March and April. He led the NBA with an average of 33.3 points per game in the last 18 games, shooting at a rate of 59.5%, and averaged 1.9 blocks per game during this period. Embiid became one of only two players in the league, alongside Shaquille O’Neal in 1999-00, to achieve such extraordinary numbers over an 18-game stretch.

Embiid racked up 30 or more points in 12 out of 18 games, making him the third Sixer in franchise history to record three 50-point games in one season. This achievement came when he dominated the Boston Celtics on April 4, scoring 52 points from 20-of-25 shooting, in addition to 13 rebounds, six assists, and two blocked shots.

Embiid repeatedly altered his position on wanting to win an MVP throughout the season.

However, in this situation, the actions contradicted previous statements.

“One thing I’ll say is that if people tell you that they don’t care about it, they’re lying,” Embiid said of the Kia MVP race recently during an interview with Rachel Nichols, after last month expressing apathy concerning the prize. “That’s the best award you can get as a basketball player. It means a lot. If I were to win it, it would validate all the work that I put in. That’s why I cared about it, because you put in so much work, and if you get that recognition, it just validates that you didn’t waste your time.”

Embiid’s countless hours of effort seem to be paying off significantly. However, the six-time NBA All-Star ultimately ended up second in the final version of the Kia Race to the MVP Ladder and on this writer’s official ballot. He is followed by Antetokounmpo in third place, with Jayson Tatum coming in fourth.

After thoroughly examining his case, Donovan Mitchell quietly secured the fifth spot on the official ballot.

And now, the top 5 in the final 2022-23 Kia Race to the MVP Ladder:

1. Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets

Last week’s ranking: No. 2

Season stats: 24.5 ppg, 11.8 rpg, 9.8 apg

Denver seized the top spot in the West back in December and held firmly to it, as Jokic sat out five of the last seven games nursing a calf injury, while Embiid smashed the gas to speed to the finish line. Jokic finished the season ranked third in assists per game (a career-high 9.8 apg) and second in rebounding (11.8 rpg) while leading all NBA centers with 1.3 steals per game. His player efficiency rating of 31.51, per basketball-reference.com, ranks as the 11th-best all-time with Embiid sitting two slots behind (31.39). While the Kia MVP is a regular season award, we’ve heard the knocks about what Jokic hasn’t accomplished in the playoffs. Now, the Nuggets head into the opening round fully healthy for the first time since 2020-21. “We can see if we are capable of doing something,” Jokic said Thursday.

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2. Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers

Last week’s ranking: No. 1

Season stats: 33.1 ppg, 10.2 rpg, 4.2 apg

With Jokic’s production tailing off near the end of the season, Embiid cranked up his two-way dominance down the stretch, intimidating opponents at the rim while proving to be an unstoppable force on all levels. Despite playing with a 10-time All-Star in James Harden, Embiid fought through various injuries throughout the season to carry Philadelphia, leading the league in scoring average on 53-33-86 splits for a Sixers squad that finished third in the Eastern Conference. (Additionally, Harden and Embiid became the first duo to lead the league in scoring and assits since George Gervin and Johnny Moore did it for the San Antonio Spurs in 1981-82.) Embiid missed 16 games, and excluding shortened seasons, Bill Walton in 1977-78 is the only player since the NBA adopted an 82-game schedule to win MVP without playing at least 70 contests (Walton played in 58 games that season). Jokic played in 69 games this season, making that argument a wash.

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3. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks

Last week’s ranking: No. 3

Season stats: 31.1 ppg, 11.8 rpg, 5.7 apg

Antetokounmpo undoubtedly is the best player on the best team in the NBA, as Milwaukee captured a league-leading 58 victories in the regular season. The 28-year-old plays with a stronger supporting cast than the top two candidates. But you can’t look past Antetokounmpo carrying the Bucks in the absence of Khris Middleton, who played in just 33 games this season. Antetokounmpo leads any conversation regarding the best player on the planet, and while the advanced metrics don’t favor the two-time MVP in this race, the eye test certainly does. His 55.3% shooting is the same as it was in 2019-20 — his last MVP season — and he’s averaging career highs in points (31.1) and rebounds (11.8). In fact, he’s just the second player (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is the other) to average 30 points or more, 10-plus rebounds and five-plus assists while shooting at least 55%.

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4. Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics

Last week’s ranking: No. 4

Season stats: 30.1 ppg, 8.8 rpg, 4.6 apg

Tatum put together an outstanding 2022-23 season as Boston finished No. 1 in the NBA in net rating (6.7). You could argue that the 25-year-old is as strong a two-way force as Embiid — minus the physicality. Tatum scored the most total points in the NBA this season (2,225), while hitting the sixth-most 3-pointers (240) and joins Shai-Gilgeous Alexander as one of just two players in the NBA that averaged at least 30 points with fewer than three turnovers per game. Tatum is already Boston’s all-time leader in regular-season 50-point games (seven), but he’s playing on a loaded Celtics squad that is a title contender that features another All-Star in Jaylen Brown and the 2021-22 Kia Defensive Player of the Year (Marcus Smart).

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5. Donovan Mitchell, Cleveland Cavaliers

Last week’s ranking: Not ranked

Season stats: 28.3 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 4.4 apg

Domantas Sabonis occupied this spot the last two weeks and you could make a case for him to stay put. Gilgeous-Alexander could be here, too, as well as Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic. The official vote came down to Sabonis, who was instrumental in Sacramento’s turnaround this season, and Mitchell, who led the Cavaliers to their first 50-win season since 2017-18 in leapfrogging the other contenders for No. 5. Mitchell tallied 13 games in 2022-23 with 40 points or more, which registers as the second-most 40-point games all-time for a player in his first season with a new team. That’s not easy. The ninth player in league annals to average 28 points or more while connecting on 240 or more 3-pointers, Mitchell also closed out the season with four-consecutive 40-point games, and we can’t forget about the 71-point explosion he dropped on the Chicago Bulls in early January.

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The Next Five:

6. Domantas Sabonis, Sacramento Kings (Last week’s ranking: No. 5)
7. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder (Last week’s ranking: No. 7)
8. Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks (Last week’s ranking: No. 6)
9. James Harden, Philadelphia 76ers (Last week’s ranking: No. 8)
10. Kevin Durant, Phoenix Suns (Last week’s ranking: No. 10)

And five more (listed alphabetically): Devin Booker, Phoenix Suns; Jimmy Butler, Miami Heat; Anthony Davis, Los Angeles Lakers; De’Aaron Fox, Sacramento Kings; LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers

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Michael C. Wright is a senior writer for NBA.com. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on Twitter.

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