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As we pass the quarter mark of the NBA season and approach Christmas and the turn of the calendar year, we must ask who will be the MVP? The MVP (or Michael Jordan Trophy) has been given annually to the most valuable player in the league since 1956. It helps distinguish a player as one of the preeminent figures of his generation.
Three players have separated themselves from the pack so far this season. They are former winners, such as two–time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks and the reigning league three-time MVP Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets. We also can’t forget the engine that makes the Oklahoma City Thunder, arguably the best team in the league, go: superstar Canadian guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Let’s dive in.
Case For Shai
Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images
After finishing second in MVP voting last season behind Jokic, Gilgeous-Alexander has done nothing but continue to impress us on the basketball court consistently on a nightly basis. He’s averaging 30.3 PPG, 5.5 RPG, and 6.2 APG on shooting splits of 51/34/86.
Gilgeous-Alexander is on pace to become the eighth player in NBA history to average 30 or more points for three consecutive seasons while playing a minimum of 65 games (Wilt Chamberlain. Michael Jordan, Oscar Robertson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, James Harden, and Bob McAdoo). Sorry, Joel Embiid.
Gilgeous-Alexander would become the third guard in the modern era other than Jordan and Harden to achieve such a feat. If he keeps up his current pace while shooting 50% from the field, he’ll join Jordan as the only guard to average 30 or more for three straight seasons while doing so—historical stuff.
Gilgeous-Alexander’s productivity has the Thunder atop the Western Conference in a loaded conference. He’s a scoring savant and a true two-way player, averaging 1.9 steals and a block per game in two seasons. Something that hasn’t been seen by a guard since “Air Jordan” himself.
According to Basketball Reference, Gilgeous-Alexander ranks fifth in defensive rating and boasts the third-highest usage rate in the NBA, behind only LaMelo Ball of the Charlotte Hornets and Antetokounmpo.
His PER is 28.8, the third-best in the league, and has the second most 30-point games this season (13) behind the next man you’ll see. Gilgeous-Alexander’s unorthodox yet poised style of play cements him as one of the premier players in the league.
Case For Giannis
After a tumultuous 2-7 start to the season where many were wondering if it was over for the Bucks and coming up with trades for Antetokounmpo, the Bucks have found their way.
Since then, they have won 11 of their last 14 games, with Antetokounmpo at the forefront, playing like a Martian from outer space. In November, Antetokounmpo averaged a mind-blowing 34 PPG, 12.1 RPG, and 7.0 APG while shooting 59% from the field and recording three triple-doubles.
He’s coming off a dominant triple-double performance against the Thunder in the NBA Cup Final, where he outplayed Gilgeous-Alexander to lead the Bucks to a 97-81 victory. Antetokounmpo registered 26-19-10 on 52% from the field to go along with two steals and three blocks—utter dominance.
Antetokounmpo is currently the league-leading scorer (32.7), is fifth in rebounds (11.5), first in PER (31.8), and fifth in field goal percentage (61.4). If Antetokounmpo keeps up his current pace, he’ll be the only player to average 30 or more points and shoot 60% or better from the field for two consecutive seasons. Not even Chamberlain or Shaquille O’Neal, the two most dominant forces and physically imposing behemoths to play basketball, even achieved this in a single season.
He’s simply the “Greek Freak.”
Case For Jokic
Getty Images
After winning his third MVP last season, becoming just the 10th player in NBA history to do so, Jokic continues to display his brilliance. The Nuggets started the season off hot, winning their first seven of 10 games. Jokic missed some time due to the birth of his child, which caused the Nuggets to slip in the standings, but he has still been absurdly unstoppable.
Jokic is averaging a near 30-point triple-double (yes, I’m not joking) of 30.9 PPG, 13.3 RPG, and 9.9 APG on 56% from the field and nearly 50% from three! That has never been done in NBA history if he keeps up at his current pace. He scored 104 points in two days in a 56-point outing against the Washington Wizards and a 48-point outing against the Atlanta Hawks.
During those two days, he became the first player in NBA history to score 100 or more points, grab 30 rebounds, and dish out 15 assists in a two-day span. He’s second in the league in scoring behind Antetokounmpo while leading the league in offensive win shares, offensive box +/-, and sixth in usage rate while being fifth in assists per 36 minutes.
The only center in the top 20.
The Nuggets currently sit in fifth place in a stacked Western Conference, with no one else on the Nuggets roster averaging over 20 points a game outside of Jokic. If he wins his fourth MVP, it will put him in the pantheon of greats by becoming just the sixth player (Kareem, Jordan, Russell, Chamberlain, James) to achieve such a feat.
For the Joker, it’s his world, and we’re all just living in it.
Verdict
All three of these magnificent players deserve the MVP award for how they’ve been carrying their respective franchises. Their consistent, supreme dominance over their opponents, making it look routine, truly separates them from their peers. As great as Gilgeous-Alexander has been, he still may not be as deserving over the record-breaking seasons Antetokounmpo and Jokic are putting up.
That leaves the two giants—one from Greece and one from Serbia. The slight edge would have to go to Antetokounmpo due to his dominance in turning the Bucks’ season around from a horror movie to start the year to a potential contender. That doesn’t negate anything Jokic has done, who’s splitting hairs with Antetokounmpo, but for now, his two-way dominance while shooting an unprecedented 60% from the field for two seasons in a row while being the primary focal point of an offense can’t be denied.
If he continues at this pace, he’ll host his third MVP trophy this spring.
Who is your MVP?
SGA
Joker
Greek Freak
Other
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