ESPN: Nuggets Insiders Say Nikola Jokić 'Wanted Nothing to Do with' Winning 3rd MVP

Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokić may not have been all that heartbroken to miss out on a third straight Most Valuable Player Award.

ESPN's Tim MacMahon said around the 46-minute mark of the Hoop Collective podcast he thought Jokić "cared about MVP the last two years" but didn't want it this year "because he didn't want all the crap that came along with it, being three straight and the way that conversation went."

McMahon added that some within the Nuggets said Jokić "wanted nothing to do with it down the stretch."

Heading into the final few weeks of the regular season, Jokić and Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid were in a dead heat for MVP. Two points separated the pair in a March 30 straw poll conducted by Tim Bontemps of ESPN.

While Embiid was ultimately a deserving winner, Jokić's performance helped seal the honor for him. The Serbian center missed five of the Nuggets' final seven games. In his two appearances, he combined for 20 points, 20 rebounds and 14 assists.

To say Jokić checked out mentally would be unfair, but he and Denver coasted to the finish line. The team picked up just two wins over that seven-game span.

The 28-year-old might be getting the last laugh on those who questioned his actual value and cited his perceived lack of postseason success. The Nuggets are in the Western Conference Finals for the second time in four years and four wins away from an NBA Finals appearance.