Jokic had 26 points with 11 assists and 19 rebound as the Nuggets defeated the Hornets. There is a time limit.
Jokic won the NBA's Most Valuable Player award in the final weeks of the regular season, as injuries to James and the Lakers allowed Jokic to win the award.
Jokic has the inside track to repeat as the regular season winds down.
After Jokic finished just behind Embiid in the previous edition in mid-February, the four-time All-Star claimed 62 of 100 first-place votes in the third and final iteration of the straw poll, giving Jokic a clear -- though narrow -- lead over.
With less than two weeks to go in the regular season, 100 media members were asked to participate in an informal poll to see where the race stands. To make the balloting as realistic as possible, there were at least two voters from each of the league's 28 markets, as well as a cross section of national and international reporters. The votes were collected from Thursday to Saturday.
Voters were asked to submit a five-player ballot, and the results were calculated using the league's scoring system: 10 points for each first-place vote, followed by seven points for second place, five.
Jokic had 62 first-place votes and a total of 860 points, followed by Embiid who had 29 first-place votes and 719 points, and Antetokounmpo who had nine first-place votes and 593 points. They were the only players who received a first-place vote and were named to all 100 ballots.
Jokic, Embiid and Antetokounmpo were 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 Antetokounmpo had six fourth-place votes, and Jokic had three fifth-place votes. Only one other player was named on half of the ballots.
Ja Morant, who finished with 103 total points, received one of the two second-place votes for someone besides Jokic, Embiid or Antetokounmpo. Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic was sixth with 87 points, while Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum was fifth with 93 points. The players who received third-place votes were Morant, Tatum and Booker.
Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry finished eighth in the straw poll with 34 points, followed by Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant and Phoenix Suns guard Chris Paul.
James, the NBA's current scoring leader who hadn't received a single vote in either of the first two polls, got one fourth-place and two fifth-place votes to finish 11th with five points.
Jokic has once again gained a slight advantage over Embiid going into the final weeks of the season after he and the other two were in a dead heat six weeks ago.
The difference this time is that Jokic took 16 of the first-place votes and got back on five of the five ballots that he was left off in the previous poll.
At this time of the year, there is usually more uncertainty in the race. It was difficult for voters to choose between the top three and fourth and fifth places.
Jokic has won the league's Most Valuable Player award the past four years, but there is reason to believe he still has work to do.
The first year that this straw poll was conducted, the voting was very close to the race. James Harden held a narrow lead over Russell Westbrook with a few weeks to go in the season, but he was unable to win the NBA's Most Valuable Player award.
The races in both conferences are so small that Jokic and Embiid are likely to play a role.
Wednesday, March 30
Heat at Celtics, 7:30 p.m.
Suns at Warriors, 10 p.m.
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