NEW YORK, United States of America, May 2022/ — Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokić has been named the 2021-22 Kia NBA Most Valuable Player, the NBA announced today.
This is the second Kia NBA Most Valuable Player Award for Jokić, who also earned the honor last season. He becomes the 13th player to win the award in consecutive seasons, joining Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Larry Bird, Wilt Chamberlain, Stephen Curry, Tim Duncan, LeBron James, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Moses Malone, Steve Nash, and Bill Russell.
Jokić received 875 points (65 first-place votes) from a global panel of 100 sportswriters and broadcasters. Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid finished in second place with 706 points (26 first-place votes).
Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo finished in third place with 595 points (nine first-place votes), followed by Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker in fourth place with 216 points and Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Dončić in fifth place with 146 points.
Players received 10 points for each first-place vote, seven points for each second-place vote, five points for each third-place vote, three points for each fourth-place vote, and one point for each fifth-place vote.
This is the first time that both the top three and four of the top five finishers in voting for the Kia NBA Most Valuable Player Award are international players, with Jokić (Serbia), Embiid (Cameroon), and Antetokounmpo (Greece) comprising the top three and Dončić (Slovenia) joining them in the top five. Jokić is the second European player to win the award more than once, joining Antetokounmpo, the MVP in the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons.
In his seventh NBA season, Jokić averaged 27.1 points, 13.8 rebounds, 7.9 assists, 1.47 steals and 0.85 blocks per game, setting career highs in each category except assists (second highest). Jokić, who played 74 games and averaged 33.5 minutes, ranked sixth in the NBA in points, second in rebounds, eighth in assists, 12th steals and 33rd in blocks per game. He led the league in total rebounds (1,019) and total defensive rebounds (813). His career-high 58.3 field goal percentage was eighth highest in the NBA.
Jokić, 27, became the first player in NBA history to record at least 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds and 500 assists in a season and the first player to average at least 25.0 points, 13.0 rebounds and 6.0 assists in a season. He led the NBA in triple-doubles with 19 and double-doubles with 66, both single-season records for a Nuggets player.
Jokić earned his fourth consecutive NBA All-Star selection and second straight All-Star start. He twice was named the Kia NBA Western Conference Player of the Month (January and March/April) and the NBA Western Conference Player of the Week (Jan. 24 and April 4).
Behind Jokić, the Nuggets (48-34) qualified for the NBA Playoffs presented by Google Pixel for the fourth consecutive season. With Denver trying to clinch a playoff spot late in the season, Jokić averaged 35.7 points, 16.3 rebounds, 7.4 assists and 2.14 steals in his final seven games.
The Nuggets selected Jokić with the 41st overall pick during the second round of the 2014 NBA Draft. Last season, he became the lowest-drafted player to win the Kia NBA Most Valuable Player Award with the exception of three-time recipient Moses Malone, who was not selected in the NBA Draft.
Jokić will be presented with a special edition 75th Anniversary commemorative trophy today in celebration of the honor, gifted in addition to the Kia NBA Most Valuable Player Award trophy, which he will receive later. The commemorative trophy, composed of a solid crystal basketball, features the NBA 75 logo 3D laser etched and suspended within its center.
The voting results for the 2021-22 Kia NBA Most Valuable Player Award are below. The balloting was tabulated by the independent accounting firm Ernst & Young LLP. Complete ballots for each voter will be posted at PR.NBA.com after the announcement of all end-of-season awards.
| VOTING RESULTS: 2021-22 KIA NBA MOST VALUABLE PLAYER AWARD | ||||||
| Player (Team) | 1st Place Votes (10 Points) | 2nd Place Votes (7 Points) | 3rd Place Votes (5 Points) | 4th Place Votes (3 Points) | 5th Place Votes (1 Point) | Total Points |
| Nikola Jokić (Denver) | 65 | 27 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 875 |
| Joel Embiid (Philadelphia) | 26 | 39 | 34 | 1 | 0 | 706 |
| Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee) | 9 | 32 | 52 | 7 | 0 | 595 |
| Devin Booker (Phoenix) | 0 | 1 | 8 | 49 | 22 | 216 |
| Luka Dončić (Dallas) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 32 | 43 | 146 |
| Jayson Tatum (Boston) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 19 | 43 |
| Ja Morant (Memphis) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 10 |
| Stephen Curry (Golden State) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| Chris Paul (Phoenix) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| DeMar DeRozan (Chicago) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| LeBron James (Los Angeles Lakers) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Kevin Durant (Brooklyn) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Below is the list of winners of the Kia NBA Most Valuable Player Award.
| KIA NBA MOST VALUABLE PLAYER WINNERS | ||
| 1955-56 – Bob Pettit, St. Louis 1956-57 – Bob Cousy, Boston 1957-58 – Bill Russell, Boston 1958-59 – Bob Pettit, St. Louis 1959-60 – Wilt Chamberlain, Philadelphia 1960-61 – Bill Russell, Boston 1961-62 – Bill Russell, Boston 1962-63 – Bill Russell, Boston 1963-64 – Oscar Robertson, Cincinnati 1964-65 – Bill Russell, Boston 1965-66 – Wilt Chamberlain, Philadelphia 1966-67 – Wilt Chamberlain, Philadelphia 1967-68 – Wilt Chamberlain, Philadelphia 1968-69 – Wes Unseld, Baltimore 1969-70 – Willis Reed, New York 1970-71 – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Milwaukee 1971-72 – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Milwaukee 1972-73 – Dave Cowens, Boston 1973-74 – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Milwaukee 1974-75 – Bob McAdoo, Buffalo 1975-76 – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, L.A. Lakers 1976-77 – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, L.A. Lakers 1977-78 – Bill Walton, Portland | 1978-79 – Moses Malone, Houston 1979-80 – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, L.A. Lakers 1980-81 – Julius Erving, Philadelphia 1981-82 – Moses Malone, Houston 1982-83 – Moses Malone, Philadelphia 1983-84 – Larry Bird, Boston 1984-85 – Larry Bird, Boston 1985-86 – Larry Bird, Boston 1986-87 – Magic Johnson, L.A. Lakers 1987-88 – Michael Jordan, Chicago 1988-89 – Magic Johnson, L.A. Lakers 1989-90 – Magic Johnson, L.A. Lakers 1990-91 – Michael Jordan, Chicago 1991-92 – Michael Jordan, Chicago 1992-93 – Charles Barkley, Phoenix 1993-94 – Hakeem Olajuwon, Houston 1994-95 – David Robinson, San Antonio 1995-96 – Michael Jordan, Chicago 1996-97 – Karl Malone, Utah 1997-98 – Michael Jordan, Chicago 1998-99 – Karl Malone, Utah 1999-00 – Shaquille O’Neal, L.A. Lakers 2000-01 – Allen Iverson, Philadelphia | 2001-02 – Tim Duncan, San Antonio 2002-03 – Tim Duncan, San Antonio 2003-04 – Kevin Garnett, Minnesota 2004-05 – Steve Nash, Phoenix 2005-06 – Steve Nash, Phoenix 2006-07 – Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas 2007-08 – Kobe Bryant, L.A. Lakers 2008-09 – LeBron James, Cleveland 2009-10 – LeBron James, Cleveland 2010-11 – Derrick Rose, Chicago 2011-12 – LeBron James, Miami 2012-13 – LeBron James, Miami 2013-14 – Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City 2014-15 – Stephen Curry, Golden State 2015-16 – Stephen Curry, Golden State 2016-17 – Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City 2017-18 – James Harden, Houston 2018-19 – Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee 2019-20 – Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee 2020-21 – Nikola Jokić, Denver 2021-22 – Nikola Jokić, Denver |
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