Behind the Numbers: Statistical breakdown of Nikola Jokic's MVP-winning Season
The Serbian star lifted his team to its first NBA championship title in franchise history
Basketball
Nikola Jokic is on top of the basketball world.
The Serbian superstar led his Denver Nuggets to their first-ever NBA championship title in francise history Monday (12 June). The Nuggets defeated the Miami Heat 4-1 in the Finals series, Jokic was named the NBA Finals MVP for the first time in his career, the first center to win this award since Shaquille O'Neal in 2002.
Although the Nuggets phenom says he isn't thinking about records or stats, he's pretty good at setting them.
"My focus has never been those kinds of records or whatever the media are putting on me. I'm just trying to win a game and just play every game," he said, according to USA Today. "Go step-by-step and play every game to win a game, as simple as that."
Drafted 41st overall in the second round of the 2014 NBA Draft, Jokic bcomes the lowest drafted player ever to be named Finals MVP, according to research by ESPN Stats & Information.
The title also comes after an amazing postseason run that saw the Nuggets win 16 of those 20 games. Jokic compiled 600 points, 269 rebounds and 190 assists in that stretch and led the postseason in all three categories.
Below is a look at some of his record-setting stats.
Denver Nuggets' Nikola Jokic's 2022-23 stats
Final Game: In the Nuggets' final game of the season, Jokic had 28 points, 16 rebounds, and four assists.
Heat Series: In the Nuggets' series with the Heat, Jokic averaged 30.2 points, 14.0 rebounds, and 7.2 assists per game. He is the first player to achieve those averages in an NBA Finals series.
Playoffs: Jokic averaged 30.0 points, 13.5 rebounds, and 9.5 assists per game in the playoffs. He shot 548% from the field, 46.1% from three-point range, and 79.9% from the free throw line.
Regular Season: Jokic averaged 24.5 points, 11.8 rebounds, and 9.8 assists per game, while shooting 63.2% from the field, 38.3% from three-point range, and 86.6% from the free throw line.
Other career accollades include:
NBA MVP (2021, 2022); NBA Western Conference MVP (2023), 5x NBA All-Star; and 3x All-NBA First Team.