In the offseason, Nikola Jokić received a multi-year contract extension that signaled the Nuggets’ faith in the young center as the face of the franchise. The 24-year-old embraced his role, his team and city and continued his ascension into one of the elite stars in the NBA.

Jokić is currently eighth in the NBA in assists (7.4) and became the first center since the legendary Wilt Chamberlain to have more than 500 assists in a season. The Serbian’s vision on the court allowed the Nuggets to essentially play an almost position-less style of basketball as he would initiate the offense on a majority of plays.

His strength as a facilitator enabled Jamal Murray to focus on his scoring. It also allowed Denver to weather the storm when they lost several key players to injury. Despite the Nuggets utilizing several different starting lineups due to missing personnel, the team didn’t miss a beat thanks to Jokić orchestrating the offense.

As impactful as his passing was, it would be remiss to not discuss Jokić’s growth in scoring as well. He became a 20 points per night scorer in the 2018-19 season. He was particularly dominant against the Portland on Jan. 13, where he lead Denver to a 116-113 win. That night, Jokić had a season-high 40 points on an efficient 65.2 percent shooting. In typical fashion, he also dominated in other areas, adding 10 boards and 8 assists.

"There's going to be much asked of him now that he's our franchise player. He hasn't shied away from that. ... All eyes are on him at all times, and he's embraced that, and I think he's doing a hell of a job with it." – Nuggets head coach Michael Malone.

Jokić is also impressing in the analytical stats as well. According to Basketball Reference, the center is fifth in the league in overall win shares (11.5) and is third in box plus/minus (9.7). Overall, Jokić is a big reason why the Nuggets are currently sitting in second with an 53-27 record.

All those factors point to an MVP caliber season.

Key Stat: 12

Jokić’s 12 triple-doubles are second most in NBA this year and he is the third youngest player in NBA history to reach 20 career triple doubles (Magic Johnson, Oscar Robertson). The Serbian joins LeBron James as the only players who lead their teams in points, rebounds and assists.