Colorado Avalanche superstar Nathan MacKinnon and Denver Nuggets sensation Nikola Jokic both work at Ball Arena.
And they’re both the best athletes in the world in their respective sports.
MacKinnon received the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s MVP on Thursday night, the first player to win the honor, while Jokic won his third NBA MVP award last month.
Denver is extremely fortunate to have the opportunity to watch each player play 82 times per year and lead the team to victory the past few summers.
But MacKinnon’s Hart Trophy win made history. It marked only the second time in NHL and NBA history that MVPs have come from the same city. The only other time it happened was in 1989, when Wayne Gretzky and Magic Johnson both won MVP awards for Los Angeles. Gretzky, of course, was with the Kings and Johnson with the Lakers.
What wonderful friends they are.
MacKinnon has been a monster player for the Avalanche this season, scoring a career-high 140 points, his previous high being 111 points last year.
MacKinnon also recorded his first 50-goal season and finished with 51 goals and 89 assists, both of which were new all-time highs for him.
Jokic’s third MVP award put him among the NBA’s elite players, making him just the ninth player in league history to win the award, and he also played like a video game this year, something we’re used to seeing. Jokic averaged 26.4 points, 12.4 rebounds and 9.0 assists per game while shooting 58 percent from the field.
They were best in the league in player efficiency rating (31), win shares (17), box plus-minus (13.2) and value above replacement (10.6).
It’s a special time to be a Denver sports fan, and MacKinnon and Jokic are now on par with Gretzky and Johnson.
They’re two of the best of all time, but at the end of the day, so are Nathan MacKinnon and Nikola Jokic.
