Someone asked Nikola Jokic if he’s becoming more serious as he enters his 10th season in the NBA. In classic Joker deadpan humor, he replied, “Why so serious?” He paused to admire his genius line from the movie “The Dark Knight” before continuing his response during his nine-minute session with the media.

“I don’t know. I’m not sure if I’m that serious or not. Maybe a little bit. I’m older,” said the Nuggets center, who already has three league MVP trophies and one NBA championship trophy on his resume before the age of 30. He posted historically great numbers during the 2023-24 season. He ranked 10th in in points, fourth in rebounds and third in assists per game. He became the second player in history to have at least 2,000 points, 900 rebounds and 700 assists in a season. The great Oscar Robertson was the only other player to accomplish the feat.

Jokic understands that life is too short to be caught up in the seriousness of the business of winning. But he also knows he can’t be wasting opportunities.

“Respect the good team that you are on because it can flip so easy, so quick,” Jokic said. “Enjoy the collective that we have and what we’ve built. Try to grow if possible. That’s my motivation.”

Everything is the same for Jokic. And that’s how he likes it. There’s continuity with the roster as the Nuggets return the core from their 2023 championship run. Denver was unable to repeat last year, and the goal this season is to get back to the mountain top.

“Every year, all 30 teams want to get better,” Jokic said. “Some of them do and some of them don’t get better. Just because I don’t smile, I don’t laugh doesn’t mean I’m not excited [about the season]. I’m excited to see what we can do. I’m excited. I just don’t show it.”

The Nuggets are coming off a season in which they won a franchise best 57 wins. But few remember their superb regular season because of the way it ended. The Nuggets ran out of gas in the playoffs as they were eliminated in the second round by Minnesota. What hurt the most was Denver squandered a 20-point second-half lead in Game 7 at home.

When Jokic was asked about the painful Game 7 loss to the Timberwolves, he touched on it for a bit and moved on.

“I don’t think about something that happened three, four, five months ago,” he said. “We had a Game 7 and we lost a big lead. That’s why basketball is an amazing sport. It’s a live thing that can change in every possible way. Can we change something? Probably, yes. Maybe we can do something different. I’m not gonna think about it now.”

Jokic’s place in basketball lore is secure. If his career ended now, he’ll be a first-ballot Hall of Famer. He’ll go down as the greatest centers to ever play. But winning a second NBA championship would certainly put him on a different tier of greatness. There are only seven three-time MVPs in league history with at least two titles: LeBron James, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Kareem Abdul-Jabber, Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell.

So, winning another title would put Jokic in elite company. And that’s no joke.

The NBA’s Most Valuable Player is voted on by a panel of 100 media members, who rank MVP candidates first through fifth.

First-place votes are worth 10 points, second-place votes are worth seven points, third-place votes are worth five points, fourth-place votes are worth three points and fifth-place votes are worth one point.

It is an honor and a privilege to be given the power to decide the fate of an NBA player’s status and legacy. The 100 media members given this honor should never take it for granted and should really think long and hard on how they vote.

Every team in the league has an MVP. The best and most logical way to identify individual accomplishment is through the lens of team success. That’s how it is at the youth level, AAU, high school, college, and pros. For whatever reason, NBA media members are infatuated with statistics. Despite having access to all the advanced metrics and data known to man, the media found a way to blow it, choosing narrative over common sense.

Since the NBA began handing out a regular-season MVP award, 12 of the 15 players with multiple MVPs led their teams to at least one NBA championship. The only three multiple MVP winners — Karl Malone, Steve Nash — don’t have a championship. Malone reached the NBA Finals twice, but lost each time to Jordan’s Chicago Bulls. Nash lost in the conference finals four times and never made it to the NBA Finals.

The Mailman and Nash are Hall of Famers, but they each have a major hole in their basketball resumes.

In 2003-04 Malone joined Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal in L.A., hoping to make one final push for a ring. But it wasn’t meant to be as Malone had an injury-plagued season and the Lakers went down to the Detroit Pistons in five games in The Finals. Malone finished his career as the second-leading scorer in history (36,928). He made the All-NBA first team 11 times and made the All-Defensive team three times. He’s widely regarded as one of the greatest power forwards and part of the NBA’s 50 greatest players.

Nash is considered one of the best point guards in basketball history, but he never reached the NBA Finals during his 18 seasons in the league. He led the Phoenix Suns three times to the conference finals and once with the Dallas Mavericks. He teamed up with Dirk Nowitzki to lead the Mavs to the 2003 Western Conference finals, losing to eventual champion San Antonio. He captured his first regular-season MVP in 2005, leading the Suns to the NBA’s best record. But the Spurs got in the way again, bouncing Nash and a loaded Suns squad that also featured Amare Stoudemire, Shawn Marion, and Joe Johnson in the conference finals in five games. Nash won his second MVP award in 2006, but was eliminated by the Mavericks led by his buddy Dirk, who removed himself from the ringless fraternity in 2011. Voters may have made a mistake by giving Nash the MVP in 2006. Nash didn’t deserve to win it over Kobe Bryant, who had one of the best statistical seasons and delivered the signature moment of the year when he scored 81 points against Toronto. Nash maxed out in Phoenix and was never able to recapture that magic he had with coach Mike D’Antoni.

Since 1956 when the first NBA regular season MVP award was handed out, five most valuable players finished their careers without winning the ultimate prize while three are still in pursuit of that elusive chip.

Here are the eight NBA MVPs without a championship ring: Charles Barkley (1993), Malone (1997, 1999), Allen Iverson (2001), Steve Nash (2005, 2006), Derrick Rose (2011), Russell Westbrook (2017), James Harden (2018), Joel Embiid (2023).

Embiid, who had long lobbied for the award, earned his first NBA MVP trophy in 2023, topping Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic. Embiid has been through the ringer in terms of working through various injuries, and his durability has been questioned. He pieced together a healthy season for the Philadelphia 76ers in 2022-23 as he averaged 33.1 points to win his second straight scoring title, 10.2 rebounds and tied a career high with 4.2 assists per game. “It’s been a long time coming. A lot of hard work. I’ve been through a lot. I’m not just talking about basketball. I’m talking about my life. My story. Where I come from. How I got here and what it took for me to be here,” said the big man from Cameroon. He’s the second winner from Africa, joining Hakeem Olajuwon, the Nigerian who won for Houston in 1994.

It’s almost cruel to put Rose on this list because he has been bitten by the injury bug several times. But the fact of the matter is D-Rose has an MVP trophy sitting at his home despite an incomplete career. He doesn’t own a championship ring nor has he set foot in an NBA Finals game. During his time in Chicago, Rose’s Bulls squad had a very nice nucleus and were strong contenders for the title. A devastating ACL injury in the 2012 playoffs dramatically cut down Rose’s promising career. Despite flashes of his old self, Rose never returned to his MVP form. He lost the burst that made him such a tough cover, and his jump shot never got good enough to keep defenses from sagging back. Rose has since left Chicago and all the physical gifts that made him so special are no longer there. Rose bounced around the league for the next five seasons, playing in New York, Cleveland, Minnesota and Detroit.

Westbrook is one of the most polarizing stars in the league. He has about as many detractors as admirers, and that list includes current players. Some people were bothered by Westbrook’s “Spalding” comment, referring to the ball being his only friend when’s on the court. Westbrook also rubs a lot of folks the wrong way with his abrasive personality. But what drives a lot of basketball pundits completely batty is Westbrook’s shot selection and recklessness. He can shoot you back in the game, but he can easily shoot you out of the game. Critics point to a playoff loss to Houston in 2017 when Westbrook scored 51 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, and dished out 13 assists. Despite posting a triple-double, Westbrook was blamed for the loss after making just 17 of 43 shots, including 4-for-18 in the fourth quarter. Westbrook’s physical attributes aren’t enough. He struggles shooting 3-pointers and takes ill-timed shots late in ballgames. Sportswriters and broadcasters point to the historic nature of his triple-double season 2017 as the main case for him winning the MVP despite his team finishing sixth in the conference. But Yahoo Sports’ Vincent Goodwill asked this profound question: Would the media voted for Westbrook had he averaged 30-9-9? If you really studied your basketball history, Oscar Robertson finished third in the MVP voting during the season he averaged a triple-double.

Harden came into his own when he arrived in Houston after leaving Oklahoma City. Harden went from a 17-point scorer to a 27-point scorer. He went from 6th Man contender to MVP winner. His 2017-18 season was almost like a video game. He led the league in scoring (30.4) and was the runaway leader in free throw attempts and free throws made. No one draws fouls (or tricks referees) better than Harden. In fact, he does it so well and so often league officials changed the way they call games. He gets to the line 11 times a game. For an 87-percent free throw shooter, that’s 10 points in the bank. Harden is so clever and crafty he has referees completely fooled. Harden does have other skills aside from gimmicks and tricks. He has a dependable step-back jumper to create space for his 3-ball, and he had straight-line drives going to his strong hand. Once the NBA cracked down on non-basketball moves to bait referees into calling fouls, Harden’s numbers have significantly dipped.

Joel Huerto is the editor and publisher of OneManFastBreak.net. Follow him on Twitter @onemanfastbreak.

Who is the real King James? Harden is challenging LeBron for the 2015 MVP. (GETTY IMAGES)

LeBron James may appear like he doesn’t care much about the MVP race, but he does.

ESPN basketball writer Brian Windhorst, also known as James’ biographer, revealed that LeBron listens, reads and watches all the accolades heaped upon Steph Curry, Russell Westbrook, Anthony Davis and James Harden. LeBron has been relegated to third or fourth choice, and this isn’t sitting well with The King.

James is a four-time regular-season NBA MVP and the reigning title-holder of world’s top player. Even though Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant captured the throne in 2014, KD was just keeping the throne warm for King James.

Curry is the sexy pick to win MVP this season because: A) he plays on the league’s top team, B) and he ranks in the top 10 in five statistical categories. He’s also put together a couple of YouTube-worthy highlights, making him a fan favorite of the online world. Curry’s Golden State squad will likely be the top-seeded team in the Western Conference when the playoffs begin, and that alone could be enough to persuade voters to give Curry the 2015 MVP. But if there is an argument against Curry it’s the simple fact that the Warriors are loaded.

The Warriors have been the best shooting team and one of the top defensive teams this season, and Curry has only been one part of the GSW machine. His backcourt teammate, Klay Thompson, has emerged as arguably the second best shooting guard in the NBA, behind only Harden, and Draymond Green could likely be the NBA’s most improved player.

Harden was the early MVP favorite for keeping the Houston Rockets near the top of the Western Conference despite not having center Dwight Howard. But The Beard has tailed off a bit since the All-Star break, even relinquishing the league lead in scoring to Westbrook. The Rockets have dropped a few spots in the standings, which could hurt Harden’s chances.

Westbrook is the late-comer to the party, but he is commanding center stage at the moment with a string of triple-doubles reminiscent of the great Oscar Robertson. But OKC is fighting for eighth in the West, and traditionally the MVP goes to the player on on the first- or second-place team in the conference. As great as Westbrook has been the last two months, he won’t get a sniff of the MVP trophy.

Davis got off to a historic start when he was posting numbers few of us have seen. But injuries have curtailed the New Orleans Pelicans franchise player and he’s just recently found his groove again. Davis is in the top 10 of four statistical categories, and his meteoric rise to superstardom is one of the better storylines of the season. If the Pelicans make the playoffs — and it’s a big IF — Davis should vault ahead of Westbrook and challenge Harden, Curry and LeBron for the top spot.

Which brings us to LeBron.

James may be a victim of his own greatness. He has created a metric that only he can achieve, making it very easy to ignore his dominance and brilliance.

Sound familiar.

Michael Jordan was so good during the 1990s MVP voters looked the other way to prevent a Jordan overload. Jordan could have easily been named MVP eight times in the decade but that would have been too easy. Voters went out of their way to give the award to Charles Barkley, Karl Malone and Magic Johnson.

LeBron is averaging 26 points, 5.8 rebounds and 7.3 assists this season. Those numbers would astronomical for any human being, but it’s just a ho-hum season for LeBron. The Cavaliers were basically out of playoff contention at the same time last year, and this year, with LeBron back in the fold, they’re challenging for the second-best record in the East.

In showcase showdowns with Curry and Harden, LeBron made big statements. LeBron torched Curry’s Warriors for 42 points on Feb. 26, and even though the Cavs lost in overtime to Harden’s Rockets on March 1 LeBron sent a strong message to Harden that he’s still the top dog in the Association. When the two superstars were matched up against each other, King James bottled up The Beard for long stretches in the fourth quarter and overtime. LeBron worked so hard on the defensive end it probably caused him to go 3-for-11 from the free throw line.

LeBron seems to have fallen into the Jordan category. Voters tend to go out of their way to make a case for fresh faces such as Curry, Harden and Westbrook because they’d like to avoid giving the award to LeBron a fifth time.

But this doesn’t make it the right call.

When picking the MVP for the 2014-15 season there is one logical choice, and he’s wearing No. 23 for the Cavaliers.