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 /

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Dec 26, 2013; Portland, OR, USA; Portland Trail Blazers power forward LaMarcus Aldridge (12) drives to the basket against the Los Angeles Clippers at the Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Craig Mitchelldyer-USA TODAY Sports /

Darkhorse Candidates

Before we get to the top-5, there are a few guys knocking on the door of the “real” race.

LaMarcus Aldridge, Portland – Aldridge falls out of the top 5 for the first time in weeks, but in all honesty, it had more to do with the guys above him than anything that the Portland big man did. He is the best player on the #2 team in the Western Conference (Portland is currently 24-6 at the time of this post), and that comes with immediate contention. Aside from that, though, LaMarcus has been lights-out from a production standpoint with 23.4 points and 10.9 rebounds per game, and he is the anchor of one of the league’s top offenses. If he continues at this clip, it’ll be a shock if he’s not back in the top 5 sometime soon.

Blake Griffin, LA Clippers – We have a debut this week! Clippers power forward Blake Griffin is flying under the radar this year (thanks to Chris Paul), but the high-flyer is quietly developing into an all-court beast. Griffin is one of four players in the league averaging more than 20 points and 10 rebounds per game, and he’s put together his best free-throw shooting (north of 70%) to increase his efficiency. To be honest, Griffin has little to no chance at actually competing for the honor with Paul around, but he deserves more attention than he’s currently receiving.

Stephen Curry, Golden State – It’s been a while since we heard from Steph Curry, but the production is too good to ignore. The Warriors have won 5 in a row, and Curry is at the center of everything that Mark Jackson and the Warriors run on the offensive end. Curry is 2nd in the league in assists at 9.5 per game (which virtually no one would guess) and we all know how scary of a shooter he is. In fact, Curry’s 40.9% clip from beyond the arc is actually a sharp downturn from his career average, and if that stabilizes, he could become a fixture on this list for weeks to come.

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