Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic is among the three finalists for NBA MVP, the league announced Sunday night.
Jokic is a two-time winner of the award. The other finalists are Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Jokic, who guided the Nuggets to the 2023 NBA title, averaged 26.4 points, 12.4 rebounds and 9.0 assists in 79 games this season.
Gilgeous-Alexander’s Thunder are the No. 1 playoff seed in the Western Conference. He averaged 30.1 points, 6.2 assists, 5.5 rebounds and 2.0 steals in 75 games.
Doncic led the NBA with a 33.9 scoring average. He also recorded 9.8 assists and 9.2 rebounds in 70 games.
Three-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert of the Minnesota Timberwolves is one of the finalists in the category again this season. He won his three awards when he played for the Utah Jazz. The other finalists are Bam Adebayo of the Miami Heat and Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs.
Wembanyama also is a finalist for Rookie of the Year. Chet Holmgren of the Oklahoma City Thunder and Brandon Miller of the Charlotte Hornets are the other two.
Oklahoma City’s Mark Daigneault, Minnesota’s Chris Finch and Jamahl Mosley of the Orlando Magic are the Coach of the Year finalists.
The finalists for Sixth Man of the Year are Malik Monk of the Sacramento Kings, Bobby Portis of the Milwaukee Bucks and Naz Reid of the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Tyrese Maxey of the Philadelphia 76ers is one of the candidates for Most Improved Player. The others are Alperen Sengun of the Houston Rockets and Coby White of the Chicago Bulls.
Gilgeous-Alexander is a finalist for Clutch Player of the Year along with Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors and DeMar DeRozan of the Chicago Bulls.
–Field Level Media