With the All-Star break behind us and less than half a season to go, the NBA Most Valuable Player race is starting to take shape. There is still a lot of basketball left — with the 65-game awards threshold looming large for several top contenders — but we broadly know the score at this point. Some players are in it to win it; others are just happy to get some recognition.
Cade Cunningham's masterful 42-point, 13-assist performance against the Knicks on Thursday night was a reminder, however, that individual games still matter. Especially in such a narrative-driven award, where the line between team success and individual success so often blurs. Here is how the MVP rankings should shape up with a couple months until the postseason:
Honorable mentions: Jaylen Brown, Jalen Johnson, Devin Booker, James Harden, Jamal Murray
MVP Rankings 10-6: In the hunt
10. Jalen Brunson, New York Knicks
Stats: 27.0 PTS | 3.3 REB | 6.1 AST | 54.1 eFG% | +4.1 DIFF
Jalen Brunson is still the lifeblood of the Knicks. He is surgical in nature, able to diagnose and exploit even the slimmest sliver of daylight as a ball-handler. His strength and craft is second to none for a point guard his size. Brunson baits fouls, yes, but there's immense skill involved in getting his man in a compromised position. The fit with KAT is wonky, the defense will be a problem, but Brunson puts New York on his back nightly, papering over countless team flaws.
9. Anthony Edwards, Minnesota Timberwolves
Stats: 29.3 PTS | 5.2 REB | 3.7 AST | 57.5 eFG% | -3.6 DIFF
Anthony Edwards added All-Star MVP to his increasingly impressive résumé. While the season-long hardware is probably out of reach, the UGA product has fully come into his own as an efficient, prolific three-level scorer. Edwards' burst, coordination and touch makes him a damn near impossible defensive assignment. He has also become one of the most prolific 3-point bombers in the sport. His assist numbers are a bit down this season, but Edwards is still a capable table-setter. And, to put it bluntly, this Wolves team just does not have enough offense to succeed without Edwards. He's also an active presence on defense, even if he does not always play up to his potential on that end.
8. Tyrese Maxey, Philadelphia 76ers
Stats: 28.9 PTS | 4.1 REB | 6.8 AST | 54.7 eFG% | +9.6 DIFF
Tyrese Maxey leads the NBA in minutes and miles. He's carrying an impossible burden — something the Sixers need to be weary of as we enter this stretch run. But it's also a testament to Maxey's relentless work ethic and adaptability. He began the season as a lightning-bolt lead creator, taking it upon himself to steer the ship with Joel Embiid operating in first gear. Since Embiid has perked back up, Maxey has effortlessly shifted into a more classic role, coming off screens, attacking out of DHOs, and reestablishing himself as one of the NBA's most potent off-ball scorers. His improvement as a creator this season has been rivaled only by his growth as a defender, which is doubly impressive when considering the load Philly asks him to carry each night.
7. Kawhi Leonard, Los Angeles Clippers
Stats: 27.9 PTS | 6.4 REB | 3.7 AST | 55.9 eFG% | +9.8 DIFF
The Clippers are still clawing their way back into the postseason race, currently ninth in the West, but Kawhi Leonard will only take on greater importance after both James Harden and Ivica Zubac were dealt at the deadline. This has been a quiet renaissance season for Leonard, who overcame a slow start to remind folks of just how dominant he can be. There's a nonzero chance Leonard gets in trouble for his alleged involvement in the Aspiration scandal, so we can't really predict his future in L.A. or elsewhere. But for now, Leonard is still, somehow, demolishing opponents with his signature Michael Jordan impression.
6. Donovan Mitchell, Cleveland Cavaliers
Stats: 29.0 PTS | 4.5 REB | 5.9 AST | 57.4 eFG% | +11.7 DIFF
Donovan Mitchell's season has flown under the radar. There's a strong case to rank him even higher. Cleveland came out of the gate a bit flat, but the Harden trade has generated some positive momentum. As has Mitchell's performance, which is on par with any season he has had to date. He is such a singular and special force, blending a constant barrage of pull-up jumpers with easy rim pressure. His strength and coordination on finishes, not to mention his year-over-year improvement as a facilitator, has made Mitchell a one-man machine. He has a bit more help now with Harden, who should only accentuate Mitchell's best attributes by manufacturing easy setups.
5. Luka Doncic, Los Angeles Lakers
Stats: 32.8 PTS | 7.8 REB | 8.6 AST | 55.4 eFG% | +3.2 DIFF
The Luka Dončić criticisms are vast and often justified. He's a turnstile on defense. His play style, while mesmeric and frequently beneficial, can slow L.A.'s offense to a crawl. Not everyone enjoys watching him play. He is probably the closest we will ever get to Rockets-era James Harden in the modern NBA.
And yet, despite a white-hot spotlight and a healthy population of skeptics, it's impossible to deny the season Dončić is having. You may not believe in the Lakers as a contender, but L.A. is 12 games above .500 in the West despite a roster that is blatantly ill-conceived. The Lakers have not insulated Dončić with the necessary athleticism on the perimeter, nor a proper defensive backbone in the frontcourt.
It feels like the Lakers are just spinning their wheels until LeBron retires (or leaves) and the cap frees up. And yet, despite this less-than-ideal ecosystem, Dončić continues to drag L.A. to respectability. He leads the NBA in scoring. He has help, obviously, between Austin Reaves and LeBron, but Dončić is the sun around which this Lakers team orbits. He''s a walking advantage creator and an elite advantage extender, with the strength to put his defender in jail, the touch to score from anywhere on the court, and the passing vision to exploit even the faintest lapse in focus from his opponent.
4. Cade Cunningham, Detroit Pistons
Stats: 25.3 PTS | 5.6 REB | 9.6 AST | 51.2 eFG% | +6.9 DIFF
The Pistons hold the best record in the NBA and are second in point differential (+8.7), behind only OKC (+12.2). Detroit is a combined 6-1 against Boston and New York, the second- and third-place teams in the East. Cunningham dropped 42 points and 13 assists on the Knicks last night, shooting 50 percent from the field and burying five 3s. It's one of the most memorable individual performances all season.
It's easy to discount the Pistons due to JB Bickerstaff's postseason history. Or because Detroit is, well, Detroit. Nobody cares about Detroit, right? But this Pistons team has shown every indication of being a level above its competition in the East, with Cunningham's hands firmly on the steering wheel. The Pistons are not stacked with traditional star-power. It's a well-oiled machine, with Cunningham spamming pick-and-rolls, putting his defender on his back, and doing the most to locate teammates in a favorable position.
The collective nature of this Detroit team — Jalen Duren's screen-setting and finishing, Duncan Robinson's whirling-dervish motion, Ausar Thompson's connective tissue — could hurt Cunningham's stock in this race, but he is the origin point for the Pistons' success. It all runs through him at the end of the day. This is more than a "best player on best team" argument.
3. Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio Spurs
Stats: 24.4 PTS | 11.1 REB | 2.8 AST | 56.7 eFG% | +11.4 DIFF
Victor Wembanyama has missed 15 games and he's averaging 29.0 minutes, the least of any real MVP contender. If he gets docked for that, so be it. The Spurs are the only team to give OKC consistent trouble this season, slotted third in the ultra-competitive West despite a younger core that's still coming into its own. San Antonio is the NBA's third-ranked defense, behind only the Thunder and Pistons. You needn't dig deep to find the root cause there.
Wemby is the most dominant defender in the NBA by a comfortable margin. Defensive value tends to go unrecognized, or at least under-appreciated, in the MVP debate — especially when a player is better on defense than offense. But it's hard to overemphasize just how vast the 7-foot-4 wunderkind's impact is on that end of the floor. Opponents can't generate consistent rim pressure. Wemby blows up backdoor cuts and pick-and-roll actions with a wave of his arm. He warps point guard's field of vision. Bigs can't pass so easily on the short roll. When he needs to switch out to the perimeter and suffocate the opponent's best player in a clutch situation, Wemby does so. No problem.
The Spurs' offense has been a bit sluggish at times this season, largely due to compressed spacing and an imbalanced lineup. But, lo and behold, the Spurs' lead the NBA in offensive rating over the last two weeks. The tides are turning, and Wemby, for all his defensive dominance, is also one heck of a scorer. On top of the standard run, jump, dunk stuff, Wemby can bomb 3s and attack slow-footed bigs with impossibly tight handles. He practically releases his jump shot above the rim, meaning he can truly get to his shot from anywhere, at any time. This is only the beginning, but Wemby has arrived as a mainstay in the MVP debate for years to come.
2. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder
Stats: 31.8 PTS | 4.4 REB | 6.4 AST | 59.9 eFG% | +10.1 DIFF
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will miss a bit of time here, which could allow others to catch up in the MVP race (at least narratively). OKC has not been as dominant as expected after its historic run out of the gate, but the Thunder are still the class of the NBA — the No. 1 defense and the No. 4 offense, with depth across the board and a coach who knows exactly how to deploy his array of weaponry.
There's a real chance for SGA to go back-to-back here. Oklahoma City's depth and ability to sustain winning in his absence is a frequent counterpoint to Gilgeous-Alexander's MVP argument, but the Thunder are 10.1 points per 100 possessions better when he's on the floor. OKC goes from very good to exceptionally great when the Kentucky product assumes command. While he's not a traditional point guard, SGA is still the genesis of so much for OKC. The Thunder offense thrives on constant side-to-side motion, puncutated by sharp downhill attacks. Nobody creates rim pressure like Gilgeous-Alexander.
He is the most advanced isolation scorer in the NBA. Bar none. SGA is so fully in tune with his own body. The dexterity, control and pacing is difficult to compute. He gets knocked for all his free throws, but again: that's a skill. He's impossible to predict. Every movement comes out of left field, like it's a move he just invented on the spot. He's also a pretty sensational defender when he needs to be, a fact that would be more celebrated if he didn't share a backcourt with two of the NBA's most effective guard defenders in Cason Wallace and Alex Caruso.
1. Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets
Stats: 28.7 PTS | 12.3 REB | 10.7 AST | 64.7 eFG% | +15.8 DIFF
The only factor working against Nikola Jokić, aside from OKC's record, is the fact that he has three MVP awards on his shelf already. We have gotten better over the years at assessing true value, even if it means the same three or four players are competing for MVP every year. Jokić clears the field in every metric. Denver is day-and-night better with Jokić on the floor, even with an improved supporting cast. He's the most efficient offensive hub in the NBA. He executes at such a high level, in so many ways. And yet, as a three-time winner, he is held to a higher standard — whether it's fair or not.
It feels like Jokić will exceed that standard, so long as he can stay healthy. He leads the league in rebounds and assists, hitting 42 percent of his 3s and 65.4 percent of his 2s. Jokić gets so much credit for his passing, as he should, that it often overshadows just how dominant he is as a scorer. While SGA has a deeper bag of tricks, Jokić is probably the "best" in that department, too. His touch is the stuff of legend. Jokić is shooting 75 percent at the rim, 58 percent from mid-range, and 40 percent on non-corner 3s (50 percent on corner 3s, for what it's worth). There is no cold zone.
We know the deal here. Jokić is the basketball equivalent of a supercomputer, but also Godzilla, and somehow also John Wick. He's too strong. He creates the advantage with balletic footwork or brute strength, then capitlizes with 360-degree court vision and feather-soft deliveries — whether that delivery is to an open teammate or straight to the bottom of the net. We are witnessing one of the very best to ever do it, and he should be awarded as such.