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It has been about a month since the last entry where I covered the trade deadline winners and losers where a lot of stuff has happened. The 76ers started out great since the Harden trade but have slowly lost their luster and a lot of questions are raising if the Sixers can pull it off or not. The Suns remain the best in the NBA while the Memphis Grizzlies continue to rise in the West while the Boston Celtics have jolted up the standings in the east putting teams on notice. The MVP race has been the tightest it has been in many years and the LA Lakers continue to spiral down despite great play from LeBron James. But today I am going to dig a little bit deeper into this crazy MVP race that looks like will come down to the last game of the season.
The MVP race for a majority of the season has been a 2–3-person race between Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, Sixers big man Joel Embiid and the reigning MVP Nikola Jokic of the Nuggets. Now all have had sensational and well-deserved cases for MVP but there could be a few more stars to make a case, Devin Booker of the Phoenix Suns, Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks, and Ja Morant of the Memphis Grizzlies.
Now who do you pick from this group of impressive players right!? My choice is a safe but controversial one where I am picking the reigning and defending MVP Nikola Jokic to go back-to-back because he has the most vital, most important, and impactful player for his team. Without Jokic the Nuggets would not be in the playoff picture whatsoever, Jokic has elevated common role players like Jeff Green, Austin Rivers and Monte Morris to higher roles while maintaining an elite stat line with twenty-six points, thirteen rebounds and eight assists a game while keeping Nuggets competitive with a 44-31 record as of this entry.
So, what about the others? Well Joel Embiid has been incredible this year with thirty points, eleven rebounds and four assists a game and played impressive sixty games so far. Antetokounmpo has continued to put MVP level numbers that seem to go overlooked with thirty points, eleven rebounds and six assists a game which seems too ordinary for him over the past couple of seasons. For Devin Booker a case can, be made because he is on the best team in the NBA averaging 26, 5 and 5 while doing so. Ja Morant of the Grizzlies he is lead them to an impressive 52-23 record and in the top three of the Western Conference while exploding on the scene with 27,6 and 7 a game despite missing games. As for Doncic his first half of the season was not the greatest but since the all-star break, he has taken his game to another level, averaging twenty-nine points, nine rebounds and seven assists a game while leading the Mavs to a 45-29 record and a major playoff surge.
All have valid cases for MVP, but Jokic’s play and sheer impact on his team puts him ahead of the pack to win and repeat as MVP this season.