NEW YORK CITY – This NBA season is full of surprises and disappointments, but one thing never changes. The MVP race is intense, with plenty of credible arguments from inner media circles.
Cases can be made for players such as Damian Lillard, Julius Randle, and Donovan Mitchell since they have been carrying their teams all season. As admirable as their efforts are, there are three finalists that stand high above these men in the race for one of the most coveted awards in NBA history.
Giannis Antetokounmpo
The work the Milwaukee Bucks have done this season to stand atop the NBA is incredible, and it all rests on the shoulders of 2x MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo. This season, Giannis is averaging 31.2 PPG, the highest of his career, and the fourth-highest average in the league, thanks to his dominant presence in the paint that leaves opponents unable to guard him. Antetokounmpo outmuscles the competition when it comes to rebounds, ranking third in the league with an average of 11.9 RPG. When he is on the court, defenders swarm him to try and prevent him from getting to the basket. Sometimes, he can power through and score with a foul, but other times, he pitches the ball out to his supporting cast of Jrue Holiday, Brook Lopez, and Grayson Allen to sink deep shots from beyond the arc. That same supporting cast shoots a combined 39.2% from three-point range, the best percentage in the league when you compare it to team 3P%.
Giannis may have stronger help this season, so he does not need to carry the team himself, but when we look at the overall plus-minus of each NBA player, he stands out with a positive rating of 8.1, the fifth-best marker in the league. The seven-time All-Star is poised to make another deep championship run with the Bucks, automatically placing him in the conversation as the next MVP.
Joel Embiid
Embiid is back in the MVP conversation for the third consecutive season, but this time is different. Embiid leads the league with 33.2 PPG, along with 10.1 RPG and 1.6 blocks per game. The Sixers currently sit in third place in the Eastern Conference, and just like Giannis, Joel Embiid has a supporting cast that helps to make the game easier for him. When he drives down the lane, defenders move to him to try and block him from scoring, only to leave his teammates open on the perimeter, including 10x All-Star and former league MVP James Harden. For Embiid, his biggest strength has been his defense.
Opposing teams are learning quickly to avoid driving to the hoop unless Embiid is guarding the perimeter, which is a great strategy until you realize Embiid has the range to block most three-pointers and the speed to force a quick turnover. He has given opposing teams headaches all season as they continue to fail at neutralizing JoJo. Among the three candidates on this list, he may be the best defender of the entire group when he gets on a hot streak.
Nikola Jokic
Nikola Jokic is a back-to-back MVP winner, so it comes as no surprise that he is a frontrunner to win the award again. If Jokic were to win the award, he would be the fourth player in NBA history to secure three consecutive MVPs (Bill Russell 1961-1963; Wilt Chamberlain 1966-1968; Larry Bird 1984-1986). At this moment, the Nuggets sit atop the Western Conference thanks to the stellar performance of Jokic. The Joker currently averages a triple-double, the first time we’ve seen this from an MVP candidate since Russell Westbrook during his prime Thunder days (2016-2019).
Jokic is averaging significantly less points this season at 24.4, but his rebounds rank third in the league at 11.8 RPG, and his assists rank fourth in the league at 10 APG. His impact for Denver is undeniable, and if they can hold on to the top seed in the West, then there will be no competition for MVP. Now one of the biggest arguments is the supporting talent and the team performance when the star players are not on the court.
| STATS | PHI w/EMBIID | PHI Wo/ EMBIID | MIL W/ GIANNIS | MIL WO/ GIANNIS | DEN W/ JOKIC | DEN WO/ JOKIC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Record | 34-18 | 9-4 | 39-13 | 8-5 | 43-14 | 3-5 |
| PPG | 114.7 | 116.4 | 116.8 | 112.2 | 118.8 | 105.6 |
| FG% | 48.4 | 48.6 | 47.1 | 45.4 | 51.5 | 46.8 |
| 3P% | 39.0 | 38.7 | 36.1 | 38.2 | 39.3 | 36.2 |
| APG | 25.0 | 25.2 | 25.2 | 24.4 | 30.1 | 23.5 |
| RPG | 40.0 | 42.5 | 50.1 | 44.3 | 43.3 | 41.6 |
Looking at the chart above, it’s clear that the Sixers can survive without Embiid with some notable improvements in scoring and rebounds, which is odd for an MVP candidate. As for Giannis and Jokic, both of their teams perform statistically worse when they are not on the court. However, the Nuggets suffer a large enough loss on offense that they would score over a dozen less points on average without Jokic in the lineup. For Denver, this proves how incredible he is for the team. Jokic is not just a scorer, he is a facilitator. He creates scoring opportunities for everyone while anchoring down the other side of the court defensively. Without him on the team, the Nuggets would miss the playoffs altogether.
With seventeen games left in the regular season, anything can happen, but all signs are pointing to a repeat victory for the greatest player in Denver Nuggets history.
BAM Sports Blog 