ST. PAUL, Minn. — Welcome to the club, Nikola Jokic. On Thursday morning, the "Joker" became the third man in COMO history to win multiple MVP awards, joining Anthony Davis (2015 and '17) and Giannis Antetokounmpo (2018, '19, and '20). Jokic, who currently stars for the Minnesnowta Chill after opening the season with the hapless Newport Beach Grizzlies, became the first player to win MVP with two different COMO teams; he also won last year with Shorewood. Minnesnowta (51-19) faces rival Scranton (48-22) in a Best-of-3 first-round series that tips Thursday night in St. Paul. (Also notable: Scranton's Evan Mobley edged out Shorewood's Scottie Barnes for Rookie of the Year. Scroll to end of this page to see the All-COMO teams.) Hamburg's Buscaglia wins COMO Executive of the YearBut Jokic and the Chill aren't even the top dogs in their own conference. That distinction belongs to Hamburg BSV (51-19), led by fourth-year GM Joe Buscaglia. In a poll of league execs, Buscaglia was a runaway winner for Executive of the Year, earning 6 votes out of 14 ballots (second place was a three-way tie at 2 votes apiece). In an interview Wednesday evening, he called the award "an insane honor," and thanked the panel. "I've learned a lot more about the league since doing the expansion route and found a strategy that worked for me," Buscaglia said. He noted two moves in particular that turned his team into a winner: Last year's eyebrow-raising trade of marquee superstar Kevin Durant, and this past offseason's free-agency signing of Rudy Gobert. The Villagers are flush with talent, and have the balanced look of a champion. They'll just need to survive an insane Empire bracket that includes Minnesnowta (51-19), Scranton (48-22) and first-round matchup Kansas City (43-27), which took two straight from Hamburg last month to earn the inaugural Butterburger® Classic. 2022 All-COMO teams1st Team
PG • LeBron James, Manhattan (7th 1st, 9th overall) SG • Luka Doncic, Kansas City (3rd 1st, 3rd overall) SF • Kevin Durant, Memphis/Shorewood (5th 1st, 6th overall) PF • Giannis Antetokounmpo, Shorewood (6th 1st, 6th overall) C• Nikola Jokic, Newport Beach/Minnesnowta (2nd 1st, 4th overall) 6th • Joel Embiid, Memphis/Manhattan (3rd 1st, 3rd overall) 2nd Team PG • Dejounte Murray, Sunnyvale (1st) SG • James Harden, Sunnyvale (9th; first time not on 1st team) SF • DeMar DeRozan, Kansas City (1st) PF • Anthony Davis, Chaska/Hamburg BSV (8th; first seven appearances were all first-team) C • Rudy Gobert, Hamburg BSV (3rd) 6th • Karl-Anthony Towns, Duval United (5th) 3rd Team PG • Trae Young, Newport Beach (1st) SG • Ja Morant, Memphis (1st) SF • Jimmy Butler, Scranton/Cleveland (5th) PF • Domantas Sabonis, Scranton (3rd) C • Pascal Siakim, Manhattan (1st) 6th • Nikola Vucevic, Minnesnowta (3rd) --- Also receiving votes: Jarrett Allen, Scranton (4), Jayson Tatum, Memphis/Scranton (3), Stephen Curry, Scranton (2), Chris Paul, Kansas City (2), Miles Bridges, Minnesnowta (2), Robert Williams III, Hamburg BSV (1), LaMelo Ball, Minnesnowta (1)
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