Last year, we watched one of the greatest MVP races in NBA history. Who are the favorites this season?
As the NBA currently mines through a gold rush of talent, its marquee names are the most identifiable and accessible amongst all the major American sports. Seeing how basketball is a five-person matchup, it’s also the sport where each individual player has the largest proportional effect on the game’s outcome. This is why, with little exception, you can’t go far unless you build a team with prolific star power. It’s why the “super team” concept is so en vogue (and always has been).
One of the highest honors the NBA bestows is the Most Valuable Player award. The merits of the award get dissected, debated and argued upon ad infinitum and ad nauseam. What does “most valuable” really mean? Since the definition leaves room for interpretation, cases get made for a handful of guys after the season wraps up. The takes run hot and the takes run cold. You can argue about it in a house. You can argue about it with a mouse. You can argue about it in a bar. You can argue about it in a car.
It’s a fun conversation to have, perhaps because it breaks down the game and who we are as people on a philosophical level. The very ethos of our being, processed granularly and projected upon grown adult alpha males playing a sport for our amusement. Or maybe just because people like fighting with each other.
Either way, as the season approaches, you can take a couple of avenues to determine who has the best shot at winning the MVP. There’s always the mathematical approach. You can pretend you’re a sharp, put on a suit like a character in a Scorsese movie and look at gambling odds. Or utilize a combination of the two, alongside some objective reasoning skills.
By any realistic measure, the pool of plausible candidates consists of LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard, Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Steph Curry, Anthony Davis, Kyrie Irving and Giannis Antetokounmpo.
In order to narrow down the field, they have to be on a team that’s going to grab a top-4 seed in their respective conference. The only players to ever win it and not meet that parameter were Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1975-76 and Westbrook last season. Abdul-Jabbar led the league in rebounds, blocks and minutes played while averaging almost 28 points per game. As we know, Westbrook had to break Oscar Robertson’s 55-year-old record to do it.
Apologies to Davis, but the Pelicans will have enough trouble scraping for a bottom-rung playoff seed. So he’s out.
Irving goes to a new situation where he gets to be “the guy” or at least more of “the guy.” But Boston is already a main contender in the East and Irving won’t be expected to add more wins from last year, as he learns a new system and how to jell with new teammates. Plus, there’s some skepticism about his ability to carry a team as the top billing. He’s out too.
Harden holds the keys to the Mike D’Antoni sports car — the most number-friendly position in the most offensively-boosting system in the league. However, it remains to be seen how Harden and new-Rocket, Chris Paul, will coexist as two ball-dominant forces. Assuming they figure it out quickly and avoid growing pains, Harden and Paul will cannibalize each other’s numbers and in turn, any prospective MVP votes. Therefore, The Beard is out.
Curry, a two-time MVP in his own right, is the straw that stirs the drink for the powerhouse title-favorite Warriors. Last season, when they brought in Durant, Curry ceded about 15 percent of his stats for the greater good of the team. Curry’s great, he’s set to have another outstanding year, but for our purposes, he’s out.
That leaves the top five…