The Most Valuable Player Award is one of the prestigious awards in basketball, and the highest level of praise an individual player can receive. Every single player that has won the MVP award has either already been inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame or will be inducted once they are eligible. The MVP award defines legacies and is the ultimate sign of superstardom.
Despite that, the NBA MVP award race has been unsuspenseful over the last decade or so, with the winner of the award being evident by the All-Star break. However, this year's race has been a pleasant change of pace and this MVP race might go down as the closest we have ever seen.
However, the NBA MVP race wasn't this eventful for the first half of the season. Joel Embiid had a complete stronghold on the award, dominating on both sides of the floor on course to leading the Philadelphia 76ers to the best record in the Eastern Conference. Up to the All-Star break, Embiid was averaging 30 points and 12 rebounds on 65% TS, whilst being in the conversation for Defensive Player of the Year and putting together some of the most impressive performances we have seen this season. Embiid was the betting favourite for the award and was running away with it, till on a Friday night game against the Washington Wizards, Joel Embiid landed awkwardly and hyperextended his right knee. Joel Embiids biggest achilles heel caught up to him once again, requiring him to miss an extended period of time, and most likely killing his chances of winning the award in this year's shortened season.
After Joel Embiid went down, LeBron James became the new clear sentimental favourite to win the MVP award. When you took into account that LeBron was averaging 26 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists along with the narrative that he was in his eighteenth season and had the Los Angeles Lakers as a top-three seed in the Western Conference without the services of Anthony Davis for a majority of the season, it seemed like a perfect storm of events for LeBron to win his fifth MVP award, and tie Michael Jordan in that category. However, the injury gods had different plans once again. In today's afternoon game against the Atlanta Hawks, LeBron appeared to sprain his right ankle. We have seen LeBron suffer a plethora of these injuries and still remain in the game, but when James subbed himself out of the game and headed straight to the locker room, we knew the injury was more serious. Reports later revealed that LeBron suffered a high-ankle sprain and will be out indefinitely. This injury will cause the Lakers to play an extended stretch of time without their two superstars, which will result in them falling down in the standings, hence diminishing LeBron's MVP chances.
With the two MVP favourites most likely being eliminated from consideration, the MVP award race is wide open. I personally believe that there is a clear three-man race for the award, with no candidate necessarily separating themselves from the rest of the pack.
Ever since his arrival in Brooklyn, James Harden has arguably been the best player in the NBA. With the Nets, Harden has completely transformed his playstyle, taking on more of a playmaking role. As a Brooklyn Net, Harden is averaging 25.4 points, 8.9 rebounds and 11.4 assists on the best shooting efficiency of his career. Harden's incredible play along with the fact that he has led the Brooklyn Nets to a 21-7 record, despite both his co-stars missing significant time, makes Harden a strong candidate for league MVP. The only stain on Harden's MVP case is that he was completely disinterested at the start of the season and quit his way out of Houston. Will the voters hold that against Harden? How much of a factor will it be in their consideration? Only time will tell.
Another potential candidate is Denver's Nikola Jokic. Jokic has undeniably been the best offensive player in the league. So far this season, Jokic is averaging 27 points, 11.2 rebounds and 8.6 assists, on 57/42/87 shooting splits. Jokic also has a chance at the highest PER season in NBA history. Every advanced metric tells you that Jokic has been the best player in the league outside of Joel Embiid, and should be the favourite for the MVP award. The only thing preventing Jokic from achieving that status is the Nuggets record. Denver currently sits as the fifth seed in the Western Conference and they would have to be at the very least in the top three for Jokic to get serious MVP consideration. However, the Nuggets are only two games behind the second-place Phoenix Suns and with the injury to Lebron James, this should be a prime opportunity for the Nuggets to make a surge for a top-three seed and solidify Jokic's MVP case.
Lastly, I believe that Giannis Antetokounmpo still has a very formidable case as the most valuable player in the league. Most people didn't even consider Giannis for the MVP award because, fair on unfair, voter fatigue is a real thing. The last time a player won three straight MVPs was Larry Bird in 1986. Additionally, Giannis's underwhelming playoff performances were bound to leave a sour taste in the mouths of voters. In my award predictions column, I even said that I think Giannis will be the deserving winner but won't actually win the award. But I just don't think you can keep Giannis out of this conversation any longer. Giannis is averaging near identical numbers to his last MVP season and has been on a recent tear. Since February, Antetokounmpo is averaging 30 points, 12 rebounds and 7.5 assists and the Milwaukee Bucks have won 15 of their 21 games over that span. If Giannis is able to sustain this level of play, the Bucks have a serious chance at the first seed in the Eastern Conference, which should allow Giannis to separate himself as the MVP favourite. The only thing working against Giannis is that he will have to separate himself, if the race is close I seriously doubt that voters will give the award to the reigning two-time MVP.
No matter what happens, this year's MVP race is destined to be one of the most entertaining in a very long time. When Adam Silver announces the KIA NBA MVP, there will be genuine anticipation over who wins the award, and as fans, that is all we can ask for.
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