After winning his third MVP award in the last four seasons, Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokić is overwhelmingly considered the NBA’s best player for the 2024-25 season.

In a poll of 18 coaches, scouts and executives conducted by ESPN’s Tim Bontemps, Jokić received 15 votes as the current best player in the league.

The only other players to receive a vote were Dallas Mavericks star Luka Dončić (two) and Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (one).

It should come as no surprise that Jokić tops the poll. Over the past four seasons, he has been arguably the most dominant force on the NBA court.

The Nuggets star never finished lower than second in the MVP voting during that time. He was the only player in the league to average at least 25.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and 9.0 assists per game in the 2023/24 season.

Perhaps the more interesting result of the poll is the players who received votes after Jokić.

There probably won’t be much to say against Dončić. Last season, he was just a stone’s throw from a triple-double, averaging 33.9 points per game, 9.8 assists and 9.2 rebounds per game, the best in the NBA.

Dallas’ run to the NBA Finals in the postseason has only further cemented Dončić’s status as a truly difference-maker. He continues to find ways to improve, as evidenced by his career-high 38.2 percent shooting from three-point range on 10.6 attempts per game.

It’s a bit of a surprise that Edwards is the only other player to receive a first-place vote. The 23-year-old has taken the Timberwolves from an uncontested player to a Western Conference finalist in his four seasons.

Minnesota increased its total wins from 19 the season before Edwards was hired to 56 last season. The 56 wins were the second most in a single season in franchise history, only better than the 2003-04 season (58-24).

The T-Wolves star received a vote ahead of players like Giannis Antetokounmpo and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

Edwards seems to crave the moment and the spotlight, and it’s easy to imagine him being the best player in the NBA as soon as next season. He famously declared himself the No. 1 player on the U.S. team at the Olympics this summer, on a team that includes LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant.