Mavs Chicken

Nikola Jokić leads the entire NBA in assists per game and rebounds per game (first player in NBA history to do both in the same season). Jokić leads the NBA in "points plus points generated by assists" per game. Jokić leads the NBA in box plus/minus (where he's on pace for the single-season record), DARKO DPM, PER, DRIP and the Basketball Reference MVP Tracker ("...based on a model built using previous voting results."), where his probability more than doubles second-place Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's. Victor Wembanyama's +17.2 net rating swing is the only one in the NBA that tops Jokić's +16.6, but Jokić has played 340 more minutes than Wemby's. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Wembanyama and Jokić are 1st, 2nd and 6th in total raw plus-minus, while Luka Dončić is 56th. Giannis Antetokounmpo is the only player in the NBA who averages a higher game score per 100 possessions, but he's not qualified for end-of-season awards. Already touched on some rate catch-alls, but Jokić leads the NBA in some cumulative ones, including wins over replacement player (derived from BPM) and LEBRON WAR (derived from LEBRON). Jokić leads all four MVP candidates in 2P%, 3P%, FG%, eFG% and points added by field-goal shooting. The Nuggets lead the NBA in non-garbage time offensive rating (points per 100 possessions) and is almost two full points clear of second place in that category. They score 15.2 more points per 100 possessions when Jokić is on the floor, which is the biggest offensive rating swing among all players with 500+ minutes and almost three full points clear of second-place LaMelo Ball. Denver also allows fewer points per 100 possessions when Jokić is on the floor. Jokić's offensive rating swing is bigger than Wembanyama's defensive rating swing. Every Nuggets rotation player other than Spencer Jones has a higher eFG% when sharing the floor with Jokić than he does when playing without him. So yes, it would be kind of crazy for this season to not finish top two in MVP voting.

We are so back

Sources: Steelers plan to hire former Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy as their head coach.

There are actual people in this world who believe Tim Duncan is better than Giannis. 👀

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