NBA Awards Rankings: Jokic vs. Embiid (again), plus Tyrese Haliburton's rise

Nikola Jokic is the NBA equivalent of Thanos. The man is inevitable.

The Denver Nuggets are 9-2 with the best record in the West, despite the ongoing absence of Jamal Murray. Denver is 7-0 at home, with the NBA's fifth-best offense and the sixth-best defense. Jokic generally gets a ton of credit on offense, but he deserves a shout on defense too. He averages 3.4 deflections per game, eight most in the league, and he's fifth in total deflections on the season.

Jokic's quick hands and razor-sharp instincts cut both ways. He doesn't defend terribly well in space, but he's not a complete stiff either. He can wall off the paint with his hulking 284-pound frame and he gets his arms in passing lanes all the time. It's a borderline strength, not a negative.

Then, of course, there's the offense. Jokic is, without much debate, the NBA's most individually impactful offensive player. He earns that label because he does so much to elevate teammates. Jokic is hovering in triple-double territory again — 30.0 points, 13.9 rebounds, 8.4 assists on .579/.327/.803 splits. His shooting numbers are actually down relative to last season, but expect a spike back in the right direction eventually. In the meantime, he leads the NBA in total field goals and rebounds. Often lambasted by a certain subsection of the NBA fanbase for his "analytics" dominance, the counting stats are more robust than ever for the two-time MVP.

Denver appears poised for another long reign atop the Western Conference standings and another deep postseason run. There's a lot of basketball left to be played, but even with Murray on the bench, the Nuggets have mostly outclassed their opponents. Jokic is a offensive code-breaker, using his strength as a battering ram in the paint and exploiting every small fissure with precisely-calibrated passes.

He's that dude, and he's still No. 1 in the MVP race.