The 2025-26 season is shaping up to be the sixth straight season in which Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic will be in the midst of the Most Valuable Player talks throughout the season. He’s won the league’s most prestigious individual award in three of the last five seasons, and in the two years he didn’t win, he finished in second.

Just a few weeks into the season, the Serbian superstar has found himself back at the top of the MVP conversation, as he jumped up to the No. 1 spot on the NBA’s most recent MVP ladder for the award following his all-time 55-point outburst on Wednesday.

After a 55-point night on 18-23 shooting in Denver’s sixth-straight win, Nikola Jokić (28.8 PPG, 13.1 RPG, 10.9 APG) moves into the No. 1 spot 🔥

Read @Powell2daPeople’s full Kia MVP Ladder on the NBA App!

➡️ https://t.co/SBqzib6Uam pic.twitter.com/Vzl3akalBo

— NBA (@NBA) November 14, 2025

Jokic was No. 3 on the list a week ago, but jumped Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo and Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander following one of the best weeks of his career (which is saying a lot). He was named as the Western Conference Player of the Week for averaging a 30-point triple double in route to a 4-0 record last week, and followed that up with a stellar showing against the Kings and a one-of-a-kind night in Los Angeles.

The Lakers’ Luka Doncic was fourth on the list, while Victor Wembanyama of the Spurs was fifth.

Just because Jokic is in first place doesn’t mean that this race is over. There’s still plenty of basketball to be played this season, and all five players have a legitimate case as to why they should be the favorite.

For the Nuggets star, this season could turn out to be the best of his career from a statistical standpoint, something that seems impossible in the offseason every time around the calendar and then becomes true as he continues to outdo his legendary performances. He’s shooting over 68% from the field, a career high, nearly 42% from 3-point range, tied for a career high, and just over 85% from the charity stripe, the second-best mark of his career.

He’s also averaging a triple double once again, a feat that he did last season as he became just the third player in league history to do so for an entire season.

Jokic and the Nuggets are set to face their biggest test of the season on Saturday night when they take on a healthy Timberwolves team on the road.