Piece By Adam Van Oort
Twitter: @AdamVanOort1
The NBA MVP race has been tight all year, with multiple stars putting up ridiculous numbers and carrying their respective teams. Unfortunately, two of these stars recently suffered injuries that will keep them out for multiple weeks, most likely derailing their chances at winning the award. LeBron James had a chance to win MVP number five of his immense career, but recently suffered a high ankle sprain in the Lakers’ 99-94 loss to the Hawks and will be out for 4-6 weeks. Similarly, Joel Embiid suffered a bone bruise in his left knee several weeks ago, basically ending his chances at a first MVP award considering he had already missed close to 10 games prior to this injury.
The good news for Sixers fans: The injury looked like it could have been much worse, and Embiid should be back and healthy soon to help Philly hold on to that number one seed in the East. These two injuries have opened up the MVP race, as James and Embiid were arguably the top two candidates prior to their injuries. With that being said, let’s take a look at my top 5 current MVP candidates as we get set for the last couple months of the regular season.
1. Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets
The Joker’s numbers this year that are, quite frankly, a joke. He’s putting up career highs in nearly every statistical category, averaging 26.9 points, 11.1 rebounds, and 8.5 assists per game and has been incredibly efficient, shooting 57% from the field, 43% from three, and 87% from the foul line. He’s also on pace to break Giannis’ single season PER record of 31.86, has 12 triple doubles, and has played in all 46 of the Nuggets games. Sounds like an MVP to me. If the Nuggets stay in 5th place in the West or jump up to 3rd or 4th (which could very well happen with AD and LeBron out for the Lakers), I expect Nikola Jokic to be hoisting the MVP trophy at the end of the season.
2. James Harden, Brooklyn Nets
If you didn’t watch any of the games and looked at what the Nets were doing recently, you would probably assume that Harden, Durant, and Kyrie are all playing on a nightly basis. Wrong. The Nets are 24-7 with James Harden at the helm, and the majority of those games are without one or both of their other superstars. That’s not a good sign for other title contenders, assuming KD will be healthy come playoff time. Harden’s averaging 26 points, 9 rebounds and over 11 assists with shooting splits of 46%/36%/87%. Nobody’s ever won MVP after switching teams during the season, but Harden could become the first if the Nets keep winning.
3. Damian Lilliard, Portland Trail Blazers
Dame’s had to carry a Blazers team that’s been without their 2nd and 3rd best players (McCollum and Nurkic) for the majority of the season. Even so, he has this team sitting tied for 5th in the West at 28-18. Lilliard’s putting up averages of 29.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 7.8 assists per game while shooting a ridiculous 94% from the free throw line and getting there at a high rate too. He’ll have to do something miraculous to overtake Jokic and Harden as the frontrunner, but I’m certainly not counting Dame Time out just yet.
4. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks
Would the voters even consider giving Giannis a third straight MVP award? I don’t think so, unless he was the clear frontrunner, which is certainly not the case. It’s only happened three times, Bill Russell (1961-1963), Wilt Chamberlain (1966-1968), and Larry Bird (1984-1986). I don’t see it happening this year although Giannis is still having a remarkable season, averaging 28.3 points, 11.5 rebounds, 6.4 assists, 1.3 blocks, and 1.2 steals per game. The only knocks on Giannis are his three-point shooting and free throw shooting, which sit at 30% and 68% respectively. Nonetheless, the Greek Freak is still an unstoppable force, and I’m excited to see what he can do in the playoffs now that the Bucks don’t have the pressure of being the #1 seed.
5. LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers
Putting up 25, 8, and 8 at age 36 is not normal, and LeBron was making it look workmanlike. He’s also shooting over 51% from the field and nearly 37% from three. Before his injury, he had the Lakers at #3 in the West and was doing it without Anthony Davis for multiple weeks and without Dennis Schroeder for several games. Now that he and AD are both out for an indefinite amount of time, the Lakers are in danger of falling even further in the standings with Denver and Portland both lurking. LeBron will most likely have fallen out of MVP consideration as well with his recent injury, but I believe he has bigger plans than winning a 5th MVP award, like capturing a 5th of something else.
HM: Joel Embiid: If you simply looked at stats you would think Embiid would be 1st or 2nd in the MVP race (29.9 points, 11.5 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.4 blocks, 1.2 steals, 53%FG, 42%3P, 86%FT, 31.6 PER), but the fact that he’s already missed 15 games and will most likely miss more is the reason I don’t have him in my top 5. That being said, the Sixers are 24-7 with him and 8-7 without, so they need him at full strength if they want to make a deep playoff run.
HM: Luka Doncic: Luka was the odds on favorite to win MVP coming in to the year, and while he’s putting up his usual numbers (28.6 points, 8.3 rebounds, 9.1 assists) the Mavs just aren’t winning enough games for him to be in the top 5. The one thing that stands out to me with Luka this year is his three-point shooting, which sits at 37% compared to just 32% last year. If he continues to shoot at a high percentage from the outside, I see multiple MVP’s in his future and possibly multiple NBA championships.