MVP Frontrunners?

[Lakers LeBron]

?
Given the situation it is Lebron's to lose with the team he has and considering the narrative...

Luka only has a chance if he gets Dallas to top 4 seeds, which wont happen. So this year it is Lebron or KD if he comes back from Injury and lights it up

LeBron isn't winning another MVP. He's going to finish second again despite being the best player in the world.

The narrative for the last 7 years has been, "Who's the man who will take the crown from the king?"

Now it's Luka's turn; like Giannis, Steph, KD, and Rose before him.

[rzzzzz]

Big "if", but if Embiid can stay reasonably healthy this year,we'll finally see schemes and a roster built around a very talented throwback center. Testing Sam's original assessment.

[SK21209]

Big "if", but if Embiid can stay reasonably healthy this year,we'll finally see schemes and a roster built around a very talented throwback center. Testing Sam's original assessment.

I like Embiid as a “sleeper” MVP candidate as well, more so than Luka whose team I think may disappoint a bit relative to the high expectations.

[_qubik]

LeBron or Giannis again

No way Giannis gets it again after 2 failed playoff series in a row. Unless the Bucks win 70 games.

Luka gets it, then Zion the year after

How is it playoff related?

It's a regular season award, but the voters are humans, and Giannis wont match the Most Valuable definition for a lot of guys, its imposible to think a strong or weak PO showing wont impact the next year competition. Giannis is very good, but he wont win **** if he doesnt show further improvement. If I were one of the voters I would consider this

[Forte IV]

Luka needs the Mavs to be top 3 to win. Personally, I dont see them getting top 3 due to a couple things outside of his control (KP injury and just simply better teams than the Mavs among other things), but I'd love to be wrong.

My dark horse is PG. Laugh all you want but a healthy PG playing more than 29.8 mpg on a potential top 2 team in the West seems perfectly reasonable. After that my second dark horse is Kyrie.

[r0drig0lac]

Giannis for sure

[mademan]

Giannis is the obv frontrunner, imo. Luka if he gets a high seed. If Lebron replicates last season, doesnt sit too many games and theyre the best team in the league, he could win too

[iamworthy]

If healthy Im going with Embiid.

[LivingLegend]

Random question but I didnt want to start a new thread.

Is there a stat for 'potential assists'?? Like where a player makes the right play and passes to a guy for a open shot but the other player misses the shot so that we can see how good of a passer a player is but not just looking at raw total assists?

[bstein14]

LeBron had the #1 seed last year and didn't get it, he isn't getting it this year either unless AD goes down with an injury.

Luka needs to be top 4 in the West to have a realistic chance.

Giannis is going to have a tough time winning a 3rd in a row just because he got the last two. He likely could lead NBA in PER and be #1 in the east and still not win it.

Will Leonard still load manage his way out of a chance at MVP? Most likely he just wants playoff success.

Who exceeds expectation out of the Warriors, Heat, Celtics, Nets and Nuggets.

If Denver ends up #1 seed (they've been great the last two years) I think Jokic has a great chance.
If GSW ends up a top 3 seed I think Curry has a great chance.
If Miami, Brooklyn or Boston can finally overtake Milwaukee as #1 in the east it could go to Tatum, Butler, or Durant.

[iamworthy]

Random question but I didnt want to start a new thread.

Is there a stat for 'potential assists'?? Like where a player makes the right play and passes to a guy for a open shot but the other player misses the shot so that we can see how good of a passer a player is but not just looking at raw total assists?

https://www.nba.com/stats/players/passing/

Scroll over to find the column

[HotelVitale]

Surprised people keep thinking Lebron is a favorite or top 2 in the running--he just nabbed a title with his new team, the team is deep enough not to ned his best every night, and turns 36 in a month, there's zero reason for him to come out on fire in the RS. He also put up #s below his old MVP standards last year, which was sort of a revenge year for him. Think he ends up with a great year but rightfully doesn't bother pushing himself in ways that younger players do who have more to prove and whose teams have more to prove.

[Joshyjess]

Tatum leads Boston to a 70 win season, and they march right through the playoffs, culminating in a 4 - 0 sweep of the Lakers. Tatum then takes home his first of many (MVP trophies).

[Hello Brooklyn]

I'm all in on LeBron. The Lakers will be the best team in the West and LeBron always puts up good stats no matter what.

He wasn't won the award in 7 years and there will be a ton of media momentum for him to get it after winning his 4th title.

Giannis is very unlikely after winning twice in a row.

Luka is a hot pick, but how will the Mavs be a top seed in the West w/o KP? I don't see it.

[Hello Brooklyn]

?
Given the situation it is Lebron's to lose with the team he has and considering the narrative...

Luka only has a chance if he gets Dallas to top 4 seeds, which wont happen. So this year it is Lebron or KD if he comes back from Injury and lights it up

LeBron isn't winning another MVP. He's going to finish second again despite being the best player in the world.

The narrative for the last 7 years has been, "Who's the man who will take the crown from the king?"

Now it's Luka's turn; like Giannis, Steph, KD, and Rose before him.

LeBron came in 2nd place last year and might have taken it if the season would have finished normally. Giannis was hurt and the Lakers were looking far better at the end of the season.

Media narratives change all the time. People will lose their minds if the Mavs are a 5th seed and they give it to Luka over LeBron.

[Genjuro]

Giannis - Narrative
Doncic - Team record, stamina
LeBron - Old, rest
Davis - Second banana
Harden - Unhappy, narrative
Leonard - Load management
Durant - Injury
Curry - Team record, too much weight on his shoulders
Jokic - Hunger for stats
Lillard - Team record
Embiid - Inconsistency
George - Second banana
Tatum - Team record, limited playmaker
Butler - Stats

This is fun because everybody has at least one strong reason not to win the thing.

I have a hard time imagining LeBron putting the required effort to with the regular season MVP at his age and after such a short offseason. He could easily take games off indeed. At this point his goal is to keep winning championships and closing on Jordan. Actually, I wouldn't be surprised if AD takes a little bit over statistically during the regular season. He might be the dark horse to win the award despite not being theoretically first banana in his own team.

Luka is a good candidate and I can see him being the early frontrunner. However, we'll see if he shows the stamina to get it done for the whole season at top level (something he hasn't been able to do so far) and whether his team wins enough games (although the Mavs might just need to overachieve a little bit).

I understand the narrative is against Giannis, but to me he's still the most solid candidate a bit ahead of Luka.

The rest are longer shots, although you never know who or which team can make a leap.

[Up-And-Coming]

Big "if", but if Embiid can stay reasonably healthy this year,we'll finally see schemes and a roster built around a very talented throwback center. Testing Sam's original assessment.

I like Embiid as a “sleeper” MVP candidate as well, more so than Luka whose team I think may disappoint a bit relative to the high expectations.

Ya, Embiid should be on the list. The Sixers really improved and I can see them being a top 3 seed in the East and even making the Finals too (Bucks or them imo).

[Egg Nog]

I don't think he's a favorite to win or anything, but I like Jokic at +3000.

Jokic has always entered the new season overweight which has hurt his place in the MVP conversation. I could see that being different this season with his new regimen and a brief offseason. If the Nuggets can carry their high level of play into the regular season, he has a shot.

[Greyhound]

Giannis is the obv frontrunner, imo. Luka if he gets a high seed. If Lebron replicates last season, doesnt sit too many games and theyre the best team in the league, he could win too

Giannis can have the exact same season and team record as last season, he will at best finish top three.

You can book that.

NBA scribes are cognizant of history and they are not handing out a third MVP in a row to a cereal (playoff) belly flopper. People can claim “regular season award” all they like (playoffs have no affect on the season concluded, but they affect future awards).

It will not happen.

[ayyayyron]

The way I see it is:

Giannis if he breaks a record (even better PER, 74-8, etc.) or develops a jump shot

Steph if the Warriors are a top-3 seed (in the west) and Dallas isn't a top-4 seed

Dame if the Blazers are a top-3 seed (in the west) and Dallas isn't a top-4 seed

Luka if the Mavericks are a top-4 seed (in the west) because he'd be the youngest MVP and everyone loves Luka (for now - everyone used to love Giannis too)

Narratives obviously matter the most, so even if the Bucks have the best record in the NBA once again and Giannis averages anything under 40PPG, he has virtually no chance. If I had to put money down I'd say it's Luka.