What do you think Joel Embiid, Nikola Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo have in common besides the fact that they are elite big men in the current NBA and that all three are foreign players? That’s right, for the last five years, this trio has been winning the main individual award of the season – MVP. Giannis (Greece) did it in 2019 and 2020, Jokic (Serbia) did it in 2021 and 2022, and the reigning MVP is Embiid (Cameroon, France, America?).
This season, the trend has not changed: after an incredible start and mid-season, Joel Embiid was the main contender for the award, however, his meniscus did not think so and decided to rest until the playoffs (at least), knocking his owner out of the race for the trophy. But in general, the situation has not changed much, and the top 5 candidates for MVP now consists not of five foreigners, but of only four. As of today, the list looks like this: 1. Nikola Jokic, 2. Luka Doncic, 3. Giannis Antetokounmpo, 4. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, 5. Jayson Tatum. Let’s try to run through the magnificent five and guess who will finally get the coveted (or not so coveted) trophy.
5. Let’s start from the end. Jayson Tatum, some “experts” say, won’t win the MVP award until he wins a championship. Strange logic, considering that, for example, Jokic became MVP before he became a champion, and Embiid is still the furthest thing from the Larry O’Brien Cup. Boston put together a championship-caliber team last offseason, which, in my opinion, makes it a little difficult for Tatum to, so to speak, “stadrate,” or rather, influence the team’s results. In the current championship, the statistics of the 25-year-old forward are not much different from the previous ones. A visible drawdown is observed only in points (3 less), while the other components remain, plus or minus, at the level of last year. By the way, Tatum finished the MVP race last year in fourth place. Stability, as they say, is a sign of class. The Celtics now have four of those same “result influencers,” so I think Jason will not win the award in the coming years (Brown and Porzingis’ contracts are valid until 2029 and 2026, respectively). Let’s also not forget that our hero’s contract only covers the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons, and then the player option. Then we’ll talk about MVP if Tatum, for example, decides to move his talents to the conditional New York from, for example, Boston, which has achieved nothing. Personally, I think (may Celtic fans forgive me) that JT and Jaylen Brown are incompatible, and the Celtics really won’t win the championship with this roster, and Joe Mazzula’s “throw three and we’ll figure it out” tactics doesn’t always work, and in the playoffs the ring becomes much narrower. Tatum’s game is impressive in any case, with the exception of some decisions at the end of matches and the constant desire to perform in the style of Kobe, so this guy deserves MVP, just not here and not now. Jason’s time will definitely come.
4. Shay Gilgeous-Alexander (the list of American candidates ends with Jayson Tatum). It cannot be said that the 2023-24 season is a breakthrough for Shay, because his statistical indicators remained at approximately the same level as in the last championship (30.3 + 5.5 + 6.3 this season versus 31.4 + 4.8 + 5.5 last year). However, Oklahoma has made a huge step forward – it is in the top three in the Wild West, and last year the team had a negative balance of victories and defeats (40-42), finishing the championship in 10th place. Of course, this success did not come without the participation of newcomer Chet Holmgren, but Gilgeous-Alexander remains the leader and leader. But grief from his mind will not allow Shay to take the MVP statuette this season, since, in my opinion, Oklahoma began to choose its opponent in the first round of the playoffs, giving rest to its leaders and quietly losing matches. For the lion’s share of the championship, when Embiid dropped out of the race, the Thunder point guard was an ironclad top-2 candidate. Draw your own conclusions. Well, our hero, after the elimination of OKC in the first or second round, will go to work on his 3-point shot and become even stronger, so that next season the team will be confident in its abilities and will not have to look for convenient opponents, spoiling statistics and results.
3. Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Greek phenomenon has been mentioned in MVP conversations for probably the last five seasons, at least. And, despite the arrival of another star in Milwaukee – Damian Lillard, Giannis did not slow down at all, and in some aspects even became better. In the current season, Antetokounmpo has repeatedly put the team on his shoulders and carried it in individual games. Here, of course, 49 matches out of 74 possible from Middleton, a slight decline in Lillard and a drawdown in the depth of the roster caused by the arrival of the same Dame have an impact. The summer departure of Budenholzer, and then the replacement of Adrian Griffin by Doc Rivers after 43 matches, also could not but affect the team, however, Giannis himself dealt with these difficulties as patiently and professionally as possible, giving his best in every game. In general, in my opinion, it is difficult to single out an undisputed leader from the top five contenders for MVP. Well, how can Antetokounmpo with statistics of 30.8+11.5+6.4 be only in 4th place on the list of contenders!? Next, let’s make sure that it can easily. On average, teams have about 10 games left in the regular season. Now is the height of “load management”, which means that the leaders will miss a significant part of the remaining matches. Milwaukee’s position in the standings allows the leaders to rest before the knockout matches; therefore, there is no need to expect some kind of crazy breakthrough from Giannis and the Bucks, which means that the Greek will definitely not win the MVP this year.
2. Luka Doncic. The European star of world basketball had a great start to the season and still holds the bar, leading Dallas. The Slovenian “golden boy” with his incredible statistics came as close as possible to the main individual award only this season. He finally improved his long-range shot, bringing his shooting percentage to almost 40, worked on his physical condition and mental component, and the management finally put together something more or less sane around their main star. Luka leads the league in points, ranks 2nd in assists and is in the top 15 in rebounds. All of this combined to give Dallas a solid position in the play-in zone. Yes, yes, you were not mistaken, because in the West any team that is below the top 3 can go fishing after about 10 matches. But, I believe, this fate will not affect Doncic, because, given the precarious position of the team, Luka will probably not rest. And the Slovenian, paired with Kyrie Irving, knows how to get victories when it’s really needed. Surely, if Dallas won all of its remaining 7 games, Luka could take home the MVP award, however, the Mavs’ schedule is not the easiest. Come back, as they say, next year.
1. Nikola Jokic. The main antagonist of the media side of the NBA, and, I would venture to guess, our main favorite. Jokic can definitely be called the best big passer of all time. He is the main link in the team that won its first title in its entire existence, he is one step ahead of the rest in almost every game situation, as if pausing the game to examine every square meter of the court. Joker is one of the top 5 scorers in the league, top 5 in rebounds, and top 5 in assists (ranking even higher than Doncic). The only stumbling block in getting MVP for Nikola may be the same media exposure, because of which last season the statuette went to Philadelphia to join Joel Embiid. The NBA simply could not give the main award for the third time in a row to a player who does not engage in trash talk and PR, does not shine guns, does not meet with the Kardashians, argues with the judges to a minimum, does not have a house with 10 bedrooms and 15 showers, and is not weighed down. in gold all over his head, and finally barely dunks or dresses up for Halloween. In this championship, history may repeat itself, but in this case, the MVP award will go to the no less worthy Luka Doncic, and one should take into account the fact that Jokic absolutely doesn’t care about all these individual awards – he simply doesn’t have these thoughts in his head. He is focused on the championship and his Serbian horses.
Author: @LightsOut
NBA 5 hours ago
2024-04-05 20:54:00
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