A panel of NBA insiders polled by ESPN overwhelmingly believes that seven-time All-NBA Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic will be named league MVP for the fourth time this season.
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Tim Bontemps of ESPN oversaw this year's poll of 20 coaches, executives and scouts. Seven of them — a plurality — predicted that Jokic would earn MVP honors, ahead of reigning Oklahoma City Thunder MVP point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (who netted five votes), five-time All-NBA Los Angeles Lakers guard (that's still an insane thing to type) Luka Doncic (four), San Antonio Spurs All-Star center Victor Wembanyama (two), two-time MVP Milwaukee Bucks power forward Giannis Antetokounmpo and three-time All-Star Minnesota Timberwolves shooting guard Anthony Edwards (one apiece).
New ESPN story: Our annual offseason survey has arrived, with coaches, scouts and executives weighing in on both what took place over the last couple of months and how the upcoming season will shake out, including MVP, title picks and much, much more:https://t.co/vSNQO2GQDd
— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) September 22, 2025
On the strength of some savvy offseason maneuvering from new co-executive vice presidents Ben Tenzer and Jonathan Wallace, the Nuggets are poised to enjoy a major bounceback year in 2025-26.
Denver on the ascent
Denver hasn't made it out of the second round since winning it all in 2023. Frustrated owner Josh Kroenke fired former head coach Michael Malone and ex-team president Calvin Booth with just three games remaining in the 2024-25 regular season.
But the team bolstered its depth around Jokic and star point guard Jamal Murray. Beyond bringing on Tenzer and Wallace and promoting former interim head coach David Adelman, the Nuggets' biggest offseason additions were its trades for new starting combo forward Cameron Johnson and backup center Jonas Valanciunas and its signing of free agent guards Tim Hardaway Jr. and Bruce Brown.
After Shams Charania of ESPN reported Monday that Houston Rockets point guard Fred VanVleet had torn his ACL this week and was in danger of potentially missing the entire 2025-26 season, Denver and Oklahoma City have emerged as likely the top two teams in the Western Conference.
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In 70 healthy bouts for the 50-32 Nuggets last year, Jokic became the first center ever to average a triple-double over the course of a full season.
He notched averages of 29.6 points (on .576/.417/.800 shooting splits), 12.7 boards, 10.2 dimes, and 1.8 steals a night. For his efforts, he finished second in MVP voting to Oklahoma City Thunder champion point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
If this year's Nuggets finish with an elite record and Jokic can stay healthy and productive, Jokic has a chance to break through.
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