NBA MVP Discussion Thread 2023-24

[GSWFan1994]

Once again, seems like the MVP race will be some variation of Jokic/Giannis/Embiid, with the final order influenced by narrative, team record and games missed due to injury/load management.

Seems to me that, when we look back to this time period, years from now, there will be lots of threads here asking, "why didn't player X (let's say, Doncic, Tatum, etc for now, obviously lots of options...) win at least one MVP in the mid-20's?"... those 3 guys (above paragraph) will simply clean up all the major awards and All-NBA nods for this decade.

This is like saying, "well, if Isiah Thomas/John Stockton/etc was so good, why didn't he get more All-NBA 1st team nods while he played?"... well sir, he simply had Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson to overcome for the better part of a decade.

[CD_41]

Once again, seems like the MVP race will be some variation of Jokic/Giannis/Embiid, with the final order influenced by narrative, team record and games missed due to injury/load management.

Seems to me that, when we look back to this time period, years from now, there will be lots of threads here asking, "why didn't player X (let's say, Doncic, Tatum, etc for now, obviously lots of options...) win at least one MVP in the mid-20's?"... those 3 guys (above paragraph) will simply clean up all the major awards and All-NBA nods for this decade.

This is like saying, "well, if Isiah Thomas/John Stockton/etc was so good, why didn't he get more All-NBA 1st team nods while he played?"... well sir, he simply had Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson to overcome for the better part of a decade.

100%. In fact, Jokic is so good that a 32/15/10 statline with no turnovers is just business as usual.
But if you watch the game, you'll always get to the point where you're like "this guy just understands basketball better than anyone else on the court and he always makes the best decisions."

I don't think I've ever seen a player who is playing the game "the right way" more than Nikola Jokic.

[BelgradeNugget]

This is fascinating, he treats the game like an engineering problem and he masters the parameters and variations within the plays....
Every player does that to some some extent, but it's limited to the players own play and domain, he does it on the whole court and directs his teammates to solve the problem.

This was my favorite play call from Jokic. He sends PG Monte Morris to the dunker spot, fakes Kawhi to the wing, and passes to wide-open Morris for a layup.

Watch on YouTube

[Sgt Major]

There was an interview for two Serbian reporters who are the only guys to whom he voluntarily talks, where he said that he knows almost all the plays of the opposing teams, while some of his teammates don't even know Denver's plays.

Is it too soon to think about the fact that if he really wanted to (and I doubt that he will) - he could probably be an ATG coach as well?
immense basketball I.Q (and experience, by the time he retires), great leadership, great role model as a pro and a real charachter too! he could be a good one probably if he decided to go in that direction...don't u think?

He would've probably become one of the greats, but there's no way in hell that he would actually go for a coaching job.

[MavsDirk41]

With OKC winning SGA has to be in the running. He has been great again this year.

[Funcrusher]

Haliburton should not be listed in "other" quite frankly. The man is a bonafide megastar

[LordCovington33]

Haliburton should not be listed in "other" quite frankly. The man is a bonafide megastar

Megastar is a reach, but he’s an excellent player. Who’d you replace him with though? KD? And also keep in mind that the Pacers are a borderline playoff team, making MVP a harder sell.

[Special_Puppy]

Haliburton should not be listed in "other" quite frankly. The man is a bonafide megastar

Megastar is a reach, but he’s an excellent player. Who’d you replace him with though? KD? And also keep in mind that the Pacers are a borderline playoff team, making MVP a harder sell.

I'd put Haliburton over Ant.

[CobraCommander]

Once again, seems like the MVP race will be some variation of Jokic/Giannis/Embiid, with the final order influenced by narrative, team record and games missed due to injury/load management.

Seems to me that, when we look back to this time period, years from now, there will be lots of threads here asking, "why didn't player X (let's say, Doncic, Tatum, etc for now, obviously lots of options...) win at least one MVP in the mid-20's?"... those 3 guys (above paragraph) will simply clean up all the major awards and All-NBA nods for this decade.

This is like saying, "well, if Isiah Thomas/John Stockton/etc was so good, why didn't he get more All-NBA 1st team nods while he played?"... well sir, he simply had Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson to overcome for the better part of a decade.

100%. In fact, Jokic is so good that a 32/15/10 statline with no turnovers is just business as usual.
But if you watch the game, you'll always get to the point where you're like "this guy just understands basketball better than anyone else on the court and he always makes the best decisions."

I don't think I've ever seen a player who is playing the game "the right way" more than Nikola Jokic.

The Jokic and Giannis era—- 4+ MVPs 2+fMVP 2+rings and DPOY all the all NBA hardware...

Luka and Tatum and Booker and SGA should start playing for the in season title lol

[Wolfgang630]

I feel like SGA is top 4

[Jamaaliver]

Tyrese is Top 3 in MVP for me. Only thing stopping him from creeping higher is team record:

Read on Twitter

[CobraCommander]

Tyrese is Top 3 in MVP for me. Only thing stopping him from creeping higher is team record:

Read on Twitter

When only MJ and Lebron have done it you might be in good company

[The-Power]

I think we really have to take SGA's MVP campaign seriously.

31/6/6 with 3 stocks and only 2 turnovers per game. 64% TS. +12.6 on-court net rating, +12.4 on/off. OKC is 12-6 and that doesn't feel unsustainable at all. Ranked 5th on offense, 5th on defense and they have the 2nd best net rating in the NBA at +8.5 all while ranking 3rd in terms of SRS.

And it's clear that SGA is the driver on the court (but coaching is OKC's other MVP). He just doesn't have bad games. He has scored at above league average efficiency in 14 out of 17 games. At his volume, that's just obscene. He only had one truly bad game back in October. OKC with him on the court has been outscored by opponents only twice in 17 games.

We should also absolutely talk about seemingly all OKC's role players find ways to effectively contribute for which credit goes to them, of course, as well as the star players around them but also and especially to the system the coaching staff has implemented and chemistry they have managed to create. Truly inspiring stuff.

[CD_41]

After his rookie year with the clippers I said to myself "he could be a really nice role-player/good starter in this league".
Yeah, right.
Really really impressive how much better he has gotten every year.

MVP candidate for sure, especially since OKC is winning so many games.

[Woodsanity]

1. Jokic
2. SGA
3. Embiid
4. Giannis
5. Luka
6. Haliburton

Tatum shouldn't even be in the convo anymore with a PER of only 21.62 so I had to drop him.

[longtallbrad]

1. Jokic
2. SGA
3. Embiid
4. Giannis
5. Luka
6. Haliburton

Tatum shouldn't even be in the convo anymore with a PER of only 21.62 so I had to drop him.

I could dither over the relative ranking but I'd say that's the right top 6 for now. Plenty of time left in the season for the order to change or for another name to push into this group.

[Woodsanity]

1. Jokic
2. SGA
3. Embiid
4. Giannis
5. Luka
6. Haliburton

Tatum shouldn't even be in the convo anymore with a PER of only 21.62 so I had to drop him.

I could dither over the relative ranking but I'd say that's the right top 6 for now. Plenty of time left in the season for the order to change or for another name to push into this group.

Honestly 2-5 is somewhat interchangeable.

I cant have hali higher than 6 due to poor team record and even though he is an offensive maestro he is still the worst defender in the top 6.

[longtallbrad]

1. Jokic
2. SGA
3. Embiid
4. Giannis
5. Luka
6. Haliburton

Tatum shouldn't even be in the convo anymore with a PER of only 21.62 so I had to drop him.

I could dither over the relative ranking but I'd say that's the right top 6 for now. Plenty of time left in the season for the order to change or for another name to push into this group.

Honestly 2-5 is somewhat interchangeable.

I cant have hali higher than 6 due to poor team record and even though he is an offensive maestro he is still the worst defender in the top 6.

For the moment I'll go with...

1) JOkic
2) Embiid
3) Giannis
4) SGA
5) Luka
6) Haliburton

[Wolfgang630]

The Pacers are a 7 seed. I can’t put him in the top 5. Tatum feels like he’s slipping

[iggymcfrack]

Right now I’d go:

1. Jokic
2. Embiid
3. SGA
4. Hali
5. LeBron