Anthony Edwards looks up to three-time winner Nikola Jokić when it comes to the Kia MVP race.

• Get NBA League Pass TODAY >

Decades ago, when former NBA commissioner David Stern moved barriers and crossed borders and helped make the game truly global, he envisioned a league in which foreign players would populate teams and possibly All-Star teams.

But dominating the MVP award?

The trophy is named after Michael Jordan but there is no truth in the joke that he is the last born in the United States to win it. Perhaps that seems to be the case lately, given the annual tug-of-war between Nikola Jokić, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Joel Embiid, which shows little sign of ending.

Not since James Harden in 2018 Has anyone from the United States raised the most valuable individual award above their head. Although the sport was invented by a Canadian (James Naismith), it has since been dominated by the United States, from the cage courts of West 4th in Manhattan to the playgrounds of South Central Los Angeles and everything else.

That said, things changed, and for the better, when Stern’s dream came true. The more incoming talent, the more refined the product and the deeper the global interest.

Which brings us to this: Will this finally be the year that foreign grip loosens?

And Friday’s game between the Nuggets and Jokić against the Timberwolves and Anthony Edwards (9:30 a.m. ET, ESPN) serve as a potential passing of the torch/trophy?

Will Edwards be the first American to win the MVP this decade?

While Jokić comes out of a epic triple-double against Brooklyn – 29-18-16, the second player (after Oscar Robertson) with this stat line – and three MVPs in four years, Edwards once again shows the skills that elevate him as a young basketball player.

Wolves president Tim Connelly said Edwards had a chance to be the greatest of all time. And Edwards’ response?

“I think he’s right.”

Last summer’s Olympic experience can only motivate Edwards, as being around Team USA and LeBron James, Stephen Curry and his idol Kevin Durant puts him in the company of previous MVP winners. Edwards even said himself, before going up against them, that he planned to be better.

“Playing against the best players in the world in training all summer was the best thing for me,” he said.

He came into this season determined to improve his game and is already showing a new wrinkle – as a deep, bulky shooter. He is third in the league in total, 3 point attempts (61) while shooting an impressive 41.5% overall from deep.

Obviously, this is a small sample size and these numbers tend to decrease as the season goes on. But in comparison, Curry averaged a league-leading 11.8 attempts. last season shooting 40.8%.

Edwards has never shot 40% in a season, and last year he only attempted 6.7 per game, so this is both different and radical. This can only make him more dangerous because Edwards is at his best when attacking the rim. With defenses forced to respect his outside shot and play it tight on the perimeter, Edwards is now faking and driving could have a posterizing effect.

“I want to be whatever the team needs me to be,” Edwards said, “whether that’s scoring, passing, defending, grabbing rebounds, showing everyone that I can be coached.”

Here’s how Edwards can collect first-place MVP votes, assuming he stays at or near this level:

1. No Cities Karl-Anthony

With the cities in New YorkEdwards needs to replace some of his former teammate’s deep shots. Maybe it also leads to an increase in score if its effectiveness is reasonable. Edwards is right at 30 points per game and it’s not unrealistic to see him increase that number by the end of the season. If he fights for the lead in scoring, it will give him statistical weight.

2. Wolves win?

This is the trickiest part. The West is deeper than last year, so it will be a challenge to stay at or near the top of the West like Minnesota was in 2023-24. If the Wolves finish in the top three, that’s enough to rule out any arguments that the team isn’t good enough.

3. A new face

He’s part of the game’s evolution, a member of the core group of eager twenty-somethings who moved on later. The only problem is whether Slovenia’s Luka Dončić or Canada’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, two other members of the young club, will have beaten him to the trophy.

It won’t be easy for Edwards or any other American to break the foreigners’ hold, as Joker, among others, is poised to remain among the best in the game this season.

Will Nikola Jokić win his fourth MVP?

Just to be clear: Jokić doesn’t seem to care whether he wins another MVP. And believe him when he says that. His place in history is already assured, and what’s more, he’s just chasing Larry O’Brien trophies when he’s not tending horses.

But to win his second championship, he’ll need to produce an MVP-caliber season – especially with the Nuggets looking vulnerable – so his desire for MVP is a rather moot point.

It’s really about the voters and whether they will be tired of the Joker when it comes time to vote in 2025. Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain and Larry Bird are the only players to win three straight seasons, and Russell and LeBron James are the only ones to win four times in five seasons. Jokić would match both of these achievements.

Three reasons why (and maybe how) this could happen by next summer:

1. Jokić is a walking triple-double

As long as he displays this overall dominance, he will be in contention. But here’s another example of voters becoming fickle: could they be suffering from triple-double fatigue? Russell Westbrook won in 2016-17 averaging a triple-double. When he averaged again four seasons later, he received just one MVP vote.

2. The nuggets are shaking without him on the ground

This proved true even in their championship season. When he plays, the Nuggets usually perform well. When he sits down, they hesitate. This reflects a “real” MVP, making his team better. Which leads to…

3. The Nuggets need to win 50+ games

Again, this is where it becomes as much of a challenge for Joker as it is for Edwards. Their MVP fate could depend on their teams’ rankings, and the West is ruthless – as are the voters. A team’s record remains non-negotiable among voters. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is the only MVP winner whose team did not make the playoffs.

In this decade, only three American-born players – LeBron, Harden and Curry – have managed to make the MVP finalists. Last year, the the first four voters were foreign players.

This is a season that calls for a shake-up. Jayson Tatum is expected to be in the mix with the defending champion Boston Celtics. Maybe Anthony Davis, who is off to a good start with the Los Angeles Lakers. New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson was the highest-ranked American-born player in last season’s voting.

And then there’s a confident North Star in Minnesota. Edwards sees only one path to not only winning the MVP award, but also being elevated as the greatest of all time.

“Just work,” Edwards said. “Go out there and believe it. I’ve seen a lot of guys who have a chance to be really good at this game, but they just don’t believe it. Some guys put in the work but don’t believe in it, some guys believe in it but don’t put in the work. I believe it and I put in the work. If it doesn’t happen, it won’t happen, if it does, it will.

He paused.

“It probably will.”

* * *