The Serbian pivot of the NBA, Nikola Jokic, achieves a new title as the NBA's Most Valuable Player, emulating what he achieved in 2021 and 2022, always with the NBA's Denver Nuggets.

The 29-year-old Serbian star, who has been in great form over the past five years, not only won the regular season Most Valuable Player award in 2021 and 2022, but also finished second in the voting in 2023, a year in which he paradoxically won the championship but had the satisfaction of leading the Nuggets to their first NBA title.

That season, he averaged 26.4 points, 12.4 rebounds and 9.0 assists in the regular season, beating Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and fellow Balkan Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks in the final voting for the award.

In an increasingly globalised league with contributions from international players, it is not insignificant that the top three players were not born in the United States, something unthinkable 20 years ago and which should draw attention to those who run the world's most important league. Only Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is North American, but not American (he was born in Toronto, Canada).

Jokic's victory also marks the sixth consecutive season that the MVP award has gone to a player born outside the United States. The last American-born player to win the award was James Harden in 2018.

The 2.11-metre centre, who was born on 19 February 1995 in Sombor, Serbia, managed to make brilliance look routine, becoming only the second player after Oscar Robertson to record 2,000 points, 900 rebounds and 600 assists in a season.

The fact that Colorado finished with the second-best record of all 30 NBA teams (57-25, behind only the Celtics' 64-18 and tied with the Thunder) was crucial. His 25 triple-doubles and 68 double-doubles speak for themselves.

Jokic enters elite territory with his third regular-season MVP crown. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's six MVPs are the most ever. Bill Russell andMichael Jordan each won five, while Wilt Chamberlain and LeBron James are ahead of the Serb, who still has plenty of years ahead of him.

"You have to start with your teammates. I can't do anything without them," Jokic said during the MVP announcement on TNT when asked to reflect on another MVP.

"Coaches, players, organization, medical staff, developmental coaches over time, it's all a big circle that I couldn't be where I am without them.

As always, the MVP award was a controversial one. Canadian Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 30.1 points, 5.5 rebounds, 6.2 assists and 2.0 steals per game for Oklahoma City and had 51 games of at least 30 points, the most in the league.

Slovenian Luka Doncic, a former Real Madrid player, led the league in scoring with 33.9 points per game and was second in assists with 9.8 per game. He averaged 9.2 rebounds per game and became the third player to average a 30-point triple-double after the All-Star break, joining Oscar Robertson (1961-62) and Russell Westbrook (2016-17).

However, Nuggets coach Mike Malone had no doubt that Jokic deserved his third MVP. "When he gets up in the morning... he's not doing it for the individual accolades and recognition," Malone said. "He does it for the collective to win and hopefully win another championship. That's what it's all about."

Awards aside, Tuesday's loss means the Nuggets have lost the first two games of their Western Conference semifinal series against the Minnesota Timberwolves and face the daunting task of trying to bounce back on the road starting on Friday.