Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokić is not one for self-promotion. After back-to-back games against the Oklahoma City Thunder, who are led by fellow Most Valuable Player candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jokić kept his comments about the award race succinct.

Jokić was, however, willing to engage in a moment of self-reflection about where he finds himself as he nears the end of his 10th NBA season — which, in his view, is a peak higher than any he’s reached before.

The MVP race was never going to be decided by two games in March, but if fans and voters hoped to come out of the Denver vs. Oklahoma City back-to-back with some clarity on whether Nikola Jokic or Shai Gilgeous-Alexander wins the award,