5 DARK horse NBA MVP candidates (I MEAN DARK)
By Roje Smith
The 2016-17 NBA season is about to commence and we should be in store for another year of excitement. There are obvious MVP candidates entering the season such as LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Kawhi Leonard. However, there are other players that could make sneaky runs at the award.
As the 2016-17 NBA season gets ready to start, there are a lot of questions on the minds of fans.
Will the Cleveland Cavaliers repeat as NBA champions? Are the Golden State Warriors going to surpass their 73-win campaign from last season with the addition of Kevin Durant? Will the New York Knicks make the playoffs with their revamped roster? Those are just a few of the many questions that will be answered for us as the season progresses.
Another question on the minds of league followers involves the MVP award. In particular, many wonder if there are any players that will challenge obvious candidates like LeBron James and Stephen Curry for the MVP award.
One name that comes to mind is Russell Westbrook. If he can lead the now Durant-less Oklahoma City Thunder to 50-plus wins and a playoff berth while recording 25-plus triple doubles, then his name will be in the discussion.
Another name that comes to mind is Kawhi Leonard. If he is able to lead the San Antonio Spurs to 60-plus wins while continuing to improve on his scoring numbers, then “The Claw” has a good chance to become the Spurs’ first MVP since Tim Duncan.
The aforementioned names are no-brainer MVP candidates that any casual fan would consider. However, there are five other players that may not be as obvious and can make strong cases this year. Let’s take a look at who these dark horse candidates are. Who knows, one of them may shock the world and receive the MVP trophy at the conclusion of the season.
5. Karl-Anthony Towns – Minnesota Timberwolves
As the first overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, there was a lot of pressure on Karl-Anthony Towns to live up to expectations. He did more than that in a stellar rookie season where he averaged 18.3 points, 10.5 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game.
Towns was very efficient in his debut season as well, with a field goal percentage of 54.2 and a free throw percentage of 81.1. His outstanding play led to him winning the Rookie of the Year award. It also led to him receiving comparisons to NBA legends such as Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett.
Towns was able to have an excellent rookie season under the tutelage of head coach Sam Mitchell. While Mitchell is a good coach in his own right, especially when you consider his 2007 Coach of the Year award, he’s not as good as Minnesota‘s new coach Tom Thibodeau.
Additionally, Karl averaged 32 minutes of court time last season. Not only will his minutes go up, but his defensive prowess should improve since that’s Thibodeau’s primary coaching focus. It’s not a far-fetched notion to think that KAT can average 20-plus points, 13-plus rebounds and 2-plus blocks per game for this season. Numbers like that would make him a no-brainer All-Star.
On top of his expected improvements as an individual, the Timberwolves are expected to improve as a team. They were 29-53 last season, which was a decent improvement from their 16-66 record in 2014-15. With a coach like Thibodeau and a stable of impressive young talent such as Andrew Wiggins, Ricky Rubio, Gorgui Dieng and Zach LaVine, it’s more than possible for Minnesota to vastly improve. It’s a long shot for them to win 50 games this season, but not impossible.
If the perfect storm happens where Towns is an All-Star and Minnesota makes the playoffs with 50-plus wins, don’t be surprised to hear his name in MVP conversations. KAT will most likely be an MVP front-runner for many years to come. However, this is likely the last season where he will be an under-the-radar candidate.