Donovan Mitchell Touts Nikola Jokić's MVP-caliber Season: 'It's F--king Outrageous'
Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell offered lofty praise for Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokić, who might be in line to win his third straight NBA MVP award.
Jokić is averaging 24.7 points on 63.2 percent shooting, 11.5 rebounds and 10.1 assists per game for a 41-18 Nuggets team sitting in first place in the Western Conference.
Per Basketball Reference, the eight-year NBA veteran leads the league in win shares per 48 minutes (.318), win shares (11.3), player efficiency rating (31.8), box plus/minus (13.2) and value over replacement player (6.6).
As of Saturday, Basketball Reference's NBA MVP Award tracker gives Jokić a 68.8 percent chance to win this year's honor. No other player has better than a 10 percent chance. Philadelphia 76ers big man Joel Embiid is second on the ledger at 9.6 percent. Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, a two-time NBA MVP winner, sits third at 6.9 percent.
Jokić's production, efficiency and placement on the Western Conference's top team are all positives on his MVP resume. He's the unquestioned front-runner right now, but at the moment, he'll be taking part in Sunday's All-Star Game from Salt Lake City, Utah.
