Two superstars with five Most Valuable Player awards between them have been named the NBA’s Players of the Month for January. Nuggets center Nikola Jokic earned the honor for the Western Conference, while Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo won it in the East (Twitter links).
Jokic came out on top of a group of nominees that included Devin Booker, Anthony Edwards, Jalen Green, James Harden, Norman Powell, Jaren Jackson Jr., Domantas Sabonis, and Victor Wembanyama, as well as Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who won the award for both Oct./Nov. and Dec.
Jokic comfortably averaged a triple-double in January, with 27.0 points, 12.8 rebounds, and 11.4 assists in 34.8 minutes per game across 14 outings. He also had red-hot .585/.440/.857 shooting line and added 1.9 steals per night as Denver went 10-4 in games he played. The team was 1-2 without him.
Over in the East, Antetokounmpo was selected over fellow nominees Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Jalen Brunson, Cade Cunningham, Darius Garland, Tyrese Maxey, Tyrese Haliburton, and Pascal Siakam.
The Bucks star led his team to a 9-6 record for the month, scoring 30.5 points per game on 60.0% shooting from the floor. He also registered averages of 13.2 rebounds, 5.7 assists, and 1.1 blocks per contest.
Antetokounmpo is the third different Eastern Conference Player of the Month so far this season, joining Tatum (Oct./Nov.) and Knicks big man Karl-Anthony Towns (Dec.).
Jokic is quietly 4th in the NBA in steals per game, with no other big men anywhere in sight. He’s also top ten in deflections. That’s for all of you claiming he’s a bad defender. Before he’s done he might literally be the greatest basketball player of all time.
Jokic and Giannis are playing well. They deserve it.
Wonder if Nuggets or Bucks will make trades. Both need to imo. If they want to get back to Finals.