Nikola Jokic is staking a claim as the NBA's best player by single-handedly keeping the Nuggets afloat

• The Nuggets have what would be the NBA's best scoring margin when Nikola Jokic is on the court, but the worst in the league when he sits.
• No other player in the NBA is carrying their team like Jokic.

No player in the NBA may mean more to their team than Nikola Jokic does to the Denver Nuggets.

The reigning MVP is producing another stellar campaign, averaging 26 points, 14 rebounds, and 6 assists per game on a wildly efficient 61.2% effective field goal percentage, a stat that weighs three-pointers and two-pointers.

While Jokic's per-game stats are impressive enough — no other player has ever produced his points, rebounds, and assists numbers while also shooting above 35% from three — there is an advanced metric that shows he may be the most valuable player in the league.

According to the NBA's stats site, with Jokic on the floor, the Nuggets boast a 10.0 net rating, meaning they are outscoring opponents by 10 points per 100 possessions when he's on the court.

If the Nuggets were able to sustain that number, it would be the best in the league — the Golden State Warriors currently lead the NBA with a net rating of 8.1.

Unfortunately for the Nuggets, Jokic does not play entire games. On the season, the 23-20 Nuggets, who are currently 6th in the West, have a net rating of .8, meaning they are largely playing evenly with their opponents.

But in those minutes that Jokic is on the bench, the Nuggets have a net rating of -12.3, meaning opponents are outscoring them at a rate of 12 points per 100 possessions.

The 11-33 Detroit Pistons currently boast a -9.6 net rating, the worst in the NBA.

So, the difference between Jokic playing for the Nuggets and sitting on the bench is the difference between playing like the best team in the league and the worst team.

It's not unusual for teams to experience such splits when their star players sit but rarely are they so drastic.

Here are some splits other teams experience when their star players sit:

• Kevin Durant, Brooklyn Nets: 4.5 net rating on the court, -1.0 net rating on the bench
• LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers: -.6 net rating on the court, -3.2 net rating on the bench
• Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors: 14.7 net rating on the court, -4.1 net rating on the bench
• Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers: 7.7 net rating on the court, -3.0 net rating on the bench
• Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks: 9.2 net rating on the court, -3.7 net rating on the bench
• Chris Paul, Phoenix Suns: 9.0 net rating on the court, 6.7 net rating on the bench
• Ja Morant, Memphis Grizzlies: 1.5 net rating on the court, 4.6 net rating on the bench
• Rudy Gobert, Utah Jazz: 12.9 net rating on the court, -.7 net rating on the bench
• DeMar DeRozan, Chicago Bulls: 6.8 net rating on the court, -6.5 net rating on the bench

On/off net rating splits aren't a foolproof method of evaluating a player's value. Basketball players don't go on the court by themselves — those net ratings can be subjected to numerous factors, including who else is on the court.

But it's one way to look at how Jokic has propped up an injury-riddled roster. The Nuggets are still without Jamal Murray, their star guard who tore his ACL last April. They are also without Michael Porter Jr., the talented forward who many expected to have a breakout season after signing a $207 million extension with the Nuggets in the offseason.

Without their second- and third-best scorers, the Nuggets rely on Jokic to carry the offense, and he's done so.

This was evidenced Wednesday night when Jokic posted 49 points, 14 rebounds, and 10 assists to help the Nuggets beat the Clippers, 130-128. The Nuggets were a +15 with Jokic on the floor.

Jokic has long been known as the best passing big man ever, but he also carries a gravity on the floor to help his teammates. In the final seconds of overtime on Wednesday, the Clippers sent a double-team at Jokic to make him give up the ball. Jokic delivered a gorgeous, on-target, cross-court pass to Aaron Gordon for the go-ahead three-pointer as the shot clock expired.

—Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) January 20, 2022

"I knew the ball was going to come to me because Jok makes the right play, the right pass, even in pressure situations," Gordon said after the game. "He put it on time and on target. All I had to do was catch and shoot."

Even in losses, Jokic is impacting the game: during the Nuggets' 23-point loss to the Utah Jazz on Sunday, Jokic was a +5.

With Kevin Durant injured and Stephen Curry going through a major shooting slump, the MVP race is as open as ever. The Nuggets may not be a top seed in the West, but if Jokic carries them to a playoff seed at all could give him a leg up to winning the honor again.