Serbian star set to be named NBA MVP

Serbian center Nikola Jokic will be named this week as the NBA's Most Valuable Player according to reports, the second year in succession the Denver Nuggets star has been named as the league's standout player. 

Sports publication ESPN are reporting that Jokic will be formally announced as having won the honor later this week. 

The award comes after Jokic, who was born in Sombor, Serbia improved his performances on the court from last season. He averaged a career-record 27.1 points per game, as well as a remarkable 13.8 rebounds. 

He also picked up 7.9 assists per game; a statistic which ranks him eighth amongst his peers in the NBA.

The 6ft 11in star also became the first player in the history of the NBA to record 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds and 500 assists in a single season.

The award is just the 14th time in the history of the league that a player has won the MVP more than once, and he also becomes the second player to have won it in successive seasons after Giannis Antetokounmpo did the same in the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons.

Jokic's achievement is all the more remarkable given that he achieved the feat without the assistant of star point guard Jamal Murray who has been absent from the entire season as he recovers from an ACL injury.

Michael J. Porter, another Nuggets star, was also limited to just nine appearances due to a back complaint. 

The Milwaukee Bucks' Antetokounmpo, meanwhile, was again a finalist in the race for the MVP, as was Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers.