Anthony Edwards looks to three-time winner Nikola Jokić in the hunt for Kia MVP.

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Decades ago, when former NBA commissioner David Stern broke barriers and pushed boundaries and helped make the game truly global, he envisioned a league in which foreign players would populate rosters and eventually All-Star teams.

But dominate the MVP award?

The trophy is named after Michael Jordan, but there is no truth to the humorous statement that he was the last American born in the United States to win it. Maybe that’s just how it seems lately, considering the annual arm wrestling match between Nikola Jokić, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Joel Embiid shows little sign of stopping.

Since James Harden in 2018, no American has lifted the most prestigious individual award above his head. Although the sport was invented by a Canadian (James Naismith), it has been dominated by the United States ever since, from the cordoned-off West 4th Courts in Manhattan to the playgrounds of South-Central LA and everything in between.

However, the game changed, and for the better, when Stern’s dream came true. The more talent comes in, the higher quality the product is and the greater the global interest.

Which brings us to: Will this finally be the year that foreign control is relaxed?

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

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

While Jokić posted an epic triple-double against Brooklyn – 29-18-16, the second player ever (after Oscar Robertson) with that statistic – and three MVPs in four years, Edwards once again showed off the skills that set him apart as a young basketball player -Takeover.

Wolves president Tim Connelly said Edwards has a chance to become the greatest player of all time. And Edwards’ response?

“I think he’s right.”

The Olympic experience last summer can only motivate Edwards, as the proximity to Team USA and LeBron James, Stephen Curry and his idol Kevin Durant put him in the company of previous MVP winners. Edwards even said himself before meeting them that he planned to get better.

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

He started this season determined to improve his game and is already showing a new dynamic – as a big shooter. He is third in the league in total 3-point attempts (61) while shooting an impressive 41.5% from distance overall.

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

Edwards has never hit 40% in a season and he only attempted 6.7% per game last year, so this is both different and drastic. It can only make him more dangerous because Edwards does his best when attacking the rim. With defenses forced to respect his outside shooting and play him tight on the perimeter, Edwards could now make an impact with his pump fakes and tackles.

“I want to be what the team needs me to be,” Edwards said, “whether I’m scoring, passing, defending, getting rebounds or showing everyone that I’m coachable.”

Here’s how Edwards can garner some first-place MVP votes assuming he stays at or near that level:

1. No Karl Anthony cities

With Towns in New York, Edwards will have to replace some of his former teammate’s deep shots. It may also result in an increase in scores if its efficiency is appropriate. Edwards is sitting at 30 points per game and it’s not unrealistic for him to increase that by the end of the season. Fighting for the lead gives him statistical clout.

2. Wolves win?

That’s the hard part. The West is deeper than last year, so staying at or near the top of the West will be a challenge, as Minnesota was in 2023-24. If the Wolves finish in the top three, that will be enough to dismiss any arguments that the team isn’t good enough.

3. A fresh face

He’s part of the game’s evolution, a member of the impatient young twenty-something core that came next. The only catch is whether Luka Dončić of Slovenia or Canadian Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, two other members of the young club, could beat them for the trophy.

It won’t be easy for Edwards or any other American to break free from the foreign-born player’s reign, as Joker and the others are primed to be among the game’s best this season.

Will Nikola Jokić win his fourth MVP?

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

But to secure his second championship, he’ll need to deliver an MVP season – especially with the Nuggets looking vulnerable – so his MVP desire is somewhat moot.

It’s really about the voters and whether they will get Joker Fatigue when they vote in 2025. Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain and Larry Bird are the only players to have won three straight seasons, and Russell and LeBron James are the only ones to have won four times in five seasons. Jokić would achieve both successes.

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

1. Jokić is a walking triple-double

As long as he continues to demonstrate his all-around dominance, he will be in the running. But here’s another example that makes voters fickle: Could they be suffering from triple-double fatigue? Russell Westbrook won by averaging a triple-double in 2016-17. When he hit average again four seasons later, he received only one MVP vote.

2. Nuggets wobble without him lying on the floor

This even proved true in their championship season. When he plays, the Nuggets usually run smoothly. When he sits, they sway. This reflects a “real” MVP who makes his team better. What leads to…

3. Nuggets must win more than 50 games

Here, too, it will be as big a challenge for Joker as it was for Edwards. Their MVP fate could depend on where their teams finish in the standings, and the West is unforgiving — and so 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.

This decade, only three American-born players – LeBron, Harden and Curry – made it to the MVP finalists. Last year the top four vote-getters were foreign players.

This is a season that invites upheaval. Jayson Tatum should be in the mix with the defending champion Boston Celtics. Maybe Anthony Davis, who is off to a hot start with the Los Angeles Lakers. New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson was the highest-ranked American-born player last season.

And then there is a confident north star in Minnesota. Edwards sees only one path to not only become MVP, but also become the greatest of all time.

“Just work,” Edwards said. “Go on the court and just believe it. I’ve seen a lot of people who have a chance to be really great at this game, but they just don’t believe it. Some people put in the work but don’t believe it, others believe it but don’t do the work. I believe it and put in the work. If it doesn’t happen, it doesn’t happen, if it happens, it does.”

He paused.

“It will probably happen.”

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