“Nikola Jokic is shooting better from 2 than Shaq ever did on fewer dunks”: How the Nuggets MVP has been more efficient this season than the Lakers legend was ever in his career

Nikola Jokic is shooting 65% from two-point range this season which is 4% better than the best 2-point shooting season Shaq ever had. 

Nikola Jokic deserved to win MVP for the 2020-21 NBA season. The naysayers may insist on pushing the narrative that Joel Embiid getting hurt is what led to Jokic getting the MVP but the reality of the situation is that either one of them was worthy enough to win MVP honors last season. 

This season however, Nikola Jokic may actually have a case that is definitively better than Embiid’s. Giannis recently jumped the Sixers superstar in in the MVP ladder after a stellar month of March where the Bucks won more games than expected as they faced a gauntlet of Playoff teams.

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One aspect of Jokic’s game this season is his incredible efficiency. He is actually 4th in the league in true shooting percentage at a well above average mark of 66.2% on the season. This is quite incredible given that he attempts 4 threes a game. 

A big contributing part in this incredible percentage of his is his efficiency within the arc. 

Nikola Jokic is more efficient on 2s than prime Shaq. 

Nikola Jokic is shooting a whopping 65.1% on shots from within the arc this ‘22 NBA season. This is 4% better than what Shaq shot in his prime. According to Shane Young on Twitter, Shaq actually averaged about 7x more dunks than Jokic is this season and yet, shot a worse percentage.

Nikola Jokić is now shooting 65.1% from two this season with fewer than 30 dunks.

For context: Shaq never shot above 61.0% on twos for a full season, despite averaging over 220 dunks per year in his prime.

— Shane Young (@YoungNBA) April 2, 2022

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Jokic has mastered the pseudo-jump hook, pseudo-floater from about 4 feet away from the basket, leading to essentially an unblockable shot. He’s also incredibly nifty with his footwork, giving opposing defenses an absolute run for their money. 

Safe to say that this is merely one of a plethora of reasons as to why Nikola Jokic should be the frontrunner for MVP this year.