Top NBA MVP Candidates So Far
We are two months into this shortened NBA season, during this time, big trades have happened, Kevin Durant is back from his achilles, and the Lakers have a new challenger in the West. One of the most interesting things about this season has been the MVP race. There are great individual performers this season, and nobody has separated themselves much from the pack. We will take a look at the top five candidates so far.
5. Nikola Jokic, Center — Denver Nuggets
The Nuggets, as a team, haven’t played as they did in the bubble last season, but Jokic has taken his game to a whole new level. He’s averaging career highs in points, rebounds, assists, steals, field goal percentage, free throw percentage, and three-point percentage. At his current pace, Jokic will be tied with Wilt Chamberlain for the highest single-season assists per game average in history by a center. The Nuggets have gotten off to a slow start, but they have rebounded and are in the eighth spot in the Western Conference. He’ll have to keep up his great play in order to move up the standings and improve his individual ranking in the MVP race.
4. Stephen Curry, Point Guard — Golden State Wizards
The greatest shooter of all time is having another MVP caliber season as he looks to win another MVP Award after winning them back-to-back in 2015-16. He is putting up numbers similar to when he became the first player to win the MVP award unanimously. He is averaging 30 points per game, 6 assists, and 5 rebounds per game. He’s less than a full percentage point away from averaging 50/40/90 once again. With Klay Thompson out for the whole season, it’s up to Steph to lead his team to the playoffs. Currently, the Warriors are the seventh seed in the Western Conference. They are a game and a half out of the fourth seed in the conference. The Warriors will have to move up the standings, as teams in the lower half of the playoff standings seldom produce MVP winners with exceptions, such as Russell Westbrook in 2017.
3. Joel Embiid, Center — Philadelphia 76ers
Joel Embiid has been a monster this year for the Philadelphia 76ers. He's averaging just under 30 points a game, with almost 11 rebounds as well. While his blocked shots are at a career-low, he’s still protecting the rim at a high level for Philly. The Sixers, as a team, have the sixth-best defensive rating in the league. His points per game are at a career-high this and he’s been almost unstoppable at that end of the floor. He’s scored less than 20 points just three times this season, and in those three games, the Sixers have blown out their opponents. Right now, he has his team placed first in the Eastern Conference standings. If they can continue on this roll and he continues his individual dominance, he has a great shot at winning the first MVP award in a Sixers jersey since Allen Iverson in 2001.
2. Damian Lillard, Point Guard — Portland Trailblazers
Damian Lillard has been on absolute fire all season, which is no surprise at this point for him. For the season, he’s averaging just under 30 points, 7.7 assists, and 4.4 rebounds. He’s elevated his play since C.J McCollum has been out, and has been averaging 32 points, 8.6 assists and 4 rebounds while knocking down clutch shot after clutch shot for the Trailblazers. Currently, the Trailblazers are fourth in the Western Conference standings. With McCollum out at least the next two weeks, similar to LeBron James, Dame has a great chance to improve his standing in the MVP race if he keeps up this play while leading the Blazers to more wins. After what looks to be another Allstar snub, Lillard will be on a mission throughout the rest of this season to prove his doubters wrong.
1. LeBron James, Small Forwards — Los Angeles Lakers
Once again, LeBron James is in the thick of the MVP race. In his 18th season, James is aiming to not only tie Michael Jordan and Bill Russell for second-most MVPs in history with five, but he is looking to become the oldest player in history to win the award as well. This season, he is averaging 25.9 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 7.9 assists, while leading the Lakers to the second-best record in the NBA. Anthony Davis hasn’t been playing at the level that we expect him to, and he’s going to be out for at least the next month. This is the chance for James to put a stranglehold on the MVP race if he’s able to lead the Lakers to a good record in the next month.
We still have over a month left in this season, down the stretch all players in the race will look to elevate their games to bring home the MVP award and put their team in the best possible position heading to the playoffs.
