Coach Karl’s Corner: Jokic winning the MVP is good for the NBA

A lot of times, the MVP award is a popularity contest. You see the same faces every year in the running for the award. This year, however, the best player this entire year in the league won the award and I can’t imagine anyone arguing this selection.

Nikola Jokic was hands down the best player in the NBA this year. He’s playing at a high level on a consistent basis, oftentimes dominant, and a clutch performer in the fourth quarter of games.

It’s a historic achievement for the city of Denver and the Nuggets organization. Any small market should celebrate this type of achievement.

Everybody knows the power and influence the media has in big markets like Los Angeles and New York. Regardless, Jokic joins Spencer Haywood as the first basketball MVP in Denver since 1970. While they certainly played the game differently, both were dynamic players that’s styles resembled nothing that had been seen before at their respective times.

For young basketball fans and players, Jokic is a great representation that basketball is a “we” game. All he cares about is winning and his personality is team first.

Much like Tim Duncan, he’s available every night, has an extremely high IQ, is not very flashy and doesn’t turn the ball over. And in the guard-dominant NBA, Jokic has shown a model of what it takes to be a big man in this league. For a center to play in the game now, they have to be able to shoot, score in the low post, not to mention defend at a high level.

Congratulations to Jokic! On to Game 3.