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Nikola Jokić's standout performance in a historic night for the Denver Nuggets has significantly improved his chances in the 2024-25 NBA MVP race.

Jokić posted a 30-20-20 game during a 149-141 overtime win over the Phoenix Suns on Friday night. It's a stat line that's never happened in NBA history and comes from a player who was questionable with an ankle injury entering the night.

Jokić's performance gave him a big jump in the odds for MVP, moving him up to +210 behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder, who is currently -285 via BetMGM.

Nikola Jokić's historic performance last night just made the MVP race closer

(Odds via @BetMGM) pic.twitter.com/Kf4cK6JDEk

— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) March 8, 2025

Jokić opened the season at +450 for the award and last week had moved to +350. Earlier this week, he was at +550, but his 30-20-20 performance will have people believing he can put up a strong final month of the season to claim his fourth MVP.

Gilgeous-Alexander was -1000 for MVP on the same day Jokić dropped to +550. The NBA scoring leader (32.8 points per game) is now -285 after Jokić's big move.

Jokić not only posted a new kind of triple-double, he also broke Wilt Chamberlain's record for most assists by a center, which previously sat at 21. The overall record is held by Scott Skiles with 30, set in 1990.