NBA Awards Rankings: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander surges up MVP leaderboard

The Denver Nuggets have lost a few difficult games without Jamal Murray, whose absence has been more deeply felt than initially expected. It's easy to feel like the Nuggets are a buzzsaw so long as Jokic is on the court (and they mostly are), but Murray is critical to sustaining the non-Jokic minutes.

That ultimately shouldn't cause much harm to Jokic's early MVP case. He's the best player on his team and the best player in the world. Denver is a respectable 10-5, with Jokic dominating in both the basic box score (27.5 points, 13.1 rebounds, 8.9 assists on .579/.303/.802 splits) and in the advanced categories (first in offensive and defensive box plus-minus, first in VORP, and first in win shares). The Nuggets are still a terrifying force with Jokic on the court and he possesses a singular ability to uplift teammates.

His shooting percentages are actually down a smidge relative to normal, but Jokic remains an efficient threat from all three levels. He's a beast in isolation (1.09 points per possession, the same as Joel Embiid) and he's the NBA's greatest connector, processing the game at light speed and firing quick, on-time, on-target passes from every angle. As soon as defenses collapse toward Jokic, he's five steps ahead, either mapping out an elegant pirouette into a finish or locating the open teammate. The comfort of Denver's personnel playing off of Jokic is stark. His teammates know when to cut and when to expect the ball, even in places no other NBA player would be able to find them.

The Nuggets will continue to weather the storm until Murray returns, with Jokic operating at absolute world-beater status. He is once again the MVP frontrunner. It's extremely rare for a player to win three MVP awards, but Jokic is special. He's an all-time great who deserves a ton of praise while he's still operating at his peak — a peak that very few players in league history have ever reached.