NBA Awards Rankings: Nikola Jokic still leads pack in hotly contested MVP race

And here we are, back where we started. Nikola Jokic has been the best player in the NBA, often captaining the beaten-up Denver Nuggets through choppy waters to deliver victorious results. Denver is 13-6, second in the West despite Jamal Murray's extended absence. Jokic has been the sun around which the Nuggets orbit, as expected. He's averaging 29.0 points (a career high), 13.2 rebounds, and 9.2 assists on .571/.316/.800 splits.

There's a danger that voters become immune to the true insanity of Jokic's production on a nightly basis, but Denver's title run seems to have settled Jokic as the consensus No. 1 in the world. His shooting numbers are hovering slightly below average, but he still leads the NBA in a large swathe of advanced categories — first in offensive win shares (3.1), total win shares (4.1), win shares per 48 (.326), offensive box plus-minus (11.2), defensive box plus-minus (4.2), and VORP (2.7).

Pretty much a clean sweep.

Jokic is tracking for career-best marks in several categories, and there's a strong chance the field goal and 3-point percentages improve in the near future. Perhaps once Murray returns and restores the standard equilibrium to Denver's offense. Jokic also gets extra points for keeping the Nuggets on a contending pace absent his second-best player. It hasn't always been pretty, but Denver has proven capable of winning ugly.

In their Nov. 29 victory over the Rockets, Jokic ripped off 32 points, 10 rebounds, and 15 assists on 63.2 percent shooting. A strong statement against burgeoning All-Star Alperen Sengun, and a key victory over a quality opponent. Jokic has four straight games with 30+ points, all of which include double-digit rebounds and at least eight assists.

He's still the MVP frontrunner.