Nikola Jokić is expected to run away with his third NBA MVP in a media vote, and it turns out his peers agree.

The Denver Nuggets star narrowly edged Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as MVP in a poll of 141 NBA players conducted by The Athletic. Jokić received 41.8 percent of the first-place votes, while Gilgeous-Alexander was at 36.9 percent.

Luka Dončić, Jayson Tatum, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Donovan Mitchell also received votes.

Jokić averaged 26.4 points, 12.4 rebounds and 9.0 assists per game during the regular season. His efficiency remained off the charts, as he shot 58.3 percent overall and 35.9 percent from three-point range. The All-Star big man remained the offensive fulcrum for one of the league's best offenses, consistently putting himself and others in the best position to score while taking over when needed.

Gilgeous-Alexander continued blossoming into a superstar in 2023-24, posting averages of 30.1 points, 5.5 rebounds and 6.2 assists while leading the upstart Thunder to the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference. While his output regressed a little over the final 10 games of the season—perhaps enough to guarantee Jokić's victory—he firmly established himself as one of the NBA's premier guards.

Dončić likely would have had a better chance at winning his first MVP if the Mavericks would have been more consistent as a team. His counting stats (33.9 PPG, 9.2 RPG, 9.8 APG) are the best of any player in basketball, and Dallas closed the regular season with 15 wins in Dončić's last 16 games played.

However, they spent most of the year before that hot stretch battling in the Play-In discussion, which put Dončić at a disadvantage.