NBA MVP Power Rankings: Week 9

May 13, 2012; Miami, FL, USA; Miami Heat small forward LeBron James (6) holds the MVP trophy before game two of the second round of the 2012 NBA playoffs game one of the Eastern Conference semifinals against he Indiana Pacers of the 2012 NBA Playoffs at American Airlines Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
May 13, 2012; Miami, FL, USA; Miami Heat small forward LeBron James (6) holds the MVP trophy before game two of the second round of the 2012 NBA playoffs game one of the Eastern Conference semifinals against he Indiana Pacers of the 2012 NBA Playoffs at American Airlines Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 7
Next
Jun 20, 2013; Miami, FL, USA; NBA great Bill Russell presents the MVP trophy to Miami Heat small forward LeBron James (6) after defeating the San Antonio Spurs in game seven in the 2013 NBA Finals at American Airlines Arena. Miami Heat won 95-88 to win the NBA Championship. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 20, 2013; Miami, FL, USA; NBA great Bill Russell presents the MVP trophy to Miami Heat small forward LeBron James (6) after defeating the San Antonio Spurs in game seven in the 2013 NBA Finals at American Airlines Arena. Miami Heat won 95-88 to win the NBA Championship. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports /

Greetings! It’s that time again, when we take a much too deep look at the NBA MVP race! This week had many twists and turns for some of the top candidates (and especially guys on the fringe), and with that, there is certainly some shake-up in our rankings. If you haven’t joined us for this particular list before, be sure to check out our latest rankings (issued last week), and please be sure to come back to this space every Monday in perpetuity.

For reference, the MVP “criteria” used here is the most literal sense of the word, and team success (while certainly a factor) doesn’t include or exclude any prospective candidate from the proceedings. Without further ado, let’s get it going!