Nikola Jokic of the Nuggets wins the 3rd NBA MVP Award

Nuggets' Nikola Jokic wins 3rd NBA MVP Award originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Nikola Jokic may not place much value on individual accolades, but that hasn't stopped him from collecting them.

The Denver Nuggets star added to his trophy room on Wednesday when he was named the 2023-24 NBA MVP. This is the third time he has received this honor in the last four seasons.

Jokic received 79 first-place votes, well ahead of MVP finalists Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder (15) and Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks (four).

The only other player to receive a first-place vote was Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Jokic is the ninth player in NBA history to join Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (6), Bill Russell (5), Michael Jordan (5), Wilt Chamberlain (4), LeBron James (4) and Moses Malone (3). won three MVPs), Larry Bird (3) and Magic Johnson (3).

The Serbian center earned his first two MVP awards in 2020-21 and 2021-22 before finishing second to Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid in 2022-23. However, he more than made up for it in the 2023 postseason, earning NBA Finals MVP honors after leading the Nuggets to their first NBA championship.

The 29-year-old center had another remarkably efficient regular season in 2023-24. He averaged 26.4 points per game, 12.4 rebounds per game and 9.0 assists per game and recorded 25 triple-doubles.

Denver finished as the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference with a record of 57-25. Jokic and Co. pulled off a gentlemanly win over the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round of the NBA playoffs, but had a worrisome start to the second round, trailing the Minnesota Timberwolves after consecutive 2-0 defeats in home games.