Nikola Jokic on receiving MVP award in horse stable: 'Nobody came here before; it's once in a lifetime' / News - Basketnews.com

Nikola Jokic was officially named NBA Most Valuable Player for the second consecutive season. He was caught by surprise, too, as he rode in behind his horse on a two-wheeled cart at his stable in Sombor, Serbia.

Free throws this season

80%16,9Points made:16,9Accuracy:79,5%Place in standings:17Record max:34Record min:5Most made FTs:Nikola JokicTeamNBAStatisticsSchedule

The Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone was waiting to hug him as well as the President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly.

"It's amazing, my horse and I were doing a fast workout in the afternoon instead of the morning and I was wondering why," Jokic said in an MVP interview from the stable. "I came back in the stable, and everybody was here. Actually, I saw my godfather's car on the track and I thought, 'what is he doing here?'

And I saw everybody in the shirts. It was really emotional, a really emotional moment for me. Nobody came here before. It's actually an amazing thing that everyone came here; it's once in a lifetime."

Jokic led the NBA with 19 triple-doubles and averaged 27.1 points, 13.8 rebounds, and 7.9 assists in 74 regular-season games this campaign. He's now the first two-time MVP in Denver sports history.

Not only that, the Serbian big man is now a member of another rare club — the 13th player to win back-to-back NBA MVP awards. He joined the greats as Giannis Antetokounmpo, Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Steve Nash, Tim Duncan, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Moses Malone, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Larry Bird, Wilt Chamberlain, and Bill Russell each won the award in three straight seasons.

"I think it's great. Right now, I don't think about it," Jokic admitted. "Probably when I'm old, fat, and grumpy, hopefully, I'm going to remember and tell my kids, 'Back in the days, I was really good playing basketball'. Just to be in the company of those guys, who have made history, means a lot. Some kind of legacy."

Nikola Jokic

MIN:33.5PTS:27.33 (64.23%)REB:13.71As:7.76ST:1.47BL:0.89TO:3.85GM:79ProfileNBA2021/2022

"If it's not me, who is it?" MVP responded when asked if he considered himself the longest of long shots. "There's no way that I would come to the NBA and play basketball from this city and from this stable, basically. Now I'm playing basketball in the best league in the world and competing at a high level."

Michael Malone was emotional too. The 50-year-old specialist did not spare nice words and remembered the seven-year journey while talking about the Nuggets' leader.

"I don't know what else you can say about Nikola at this point. He's consistently improved his game, he's consistently proven people wrong when they doubt him and he's consistently the best player on the floor night in and night out. I've said it many times before, I'm extremely grateful to Nikola Jokic and just as grateful for the bond that we've built off the court in our seven years together."

Jokic overtook the other two finalists in the 2021-22 MVP race: Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid and Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Prior to Jokic's domination, Giannis snatched two MVP trophies in 2019 and 2020. This is the fourth consecutive season an international player has won the award.

"Congrats to Nikola," the Cameroonian Embiid said Tuesday, one day after news of Jokic's selection first leaked. "He deserved it. He had an amazing season. There's no right or wrong. There were a lot of candidates. It could have gone either way. I'm not mad. The last two years in a row, I've put myself in that position. It didn't happen."

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