NBA MVP Discussion Thread 2023-24

B-easy · Post #61 » by **B-easy** » Thu Oct 12, 2023 8:16 am

Anyone remember Jokic at the start of last season? (he barely trying).

This season will be more of that except for longer. I like Luka's odds.

Sgt Major · Post #62 » by **Sgt Major** » Thu Oct 12, 2023 8:31 am

Last season Jokic was trying to get Murray and MPJ in the mix when they returned from injuries that kept em away for a very long time. Turned out nice.

steefP2 · Post #63 » by **steefP2** » Thu Oct 12, 2023 8:37 am

One of jokic, Giannis or Tatum. It’s a cop out but those are most likely the only top 6 players with a good enough record.

Floody23 · Post #64 » by **Floody23** » Thu Oct 12, 2023 10:32 am

The West is really strong & I don’t see the Mavs winning enough games for Luka to be a consideration.

Big J · Post #65 » by **Big J** » Fri Oct 13, 2023 12:17 am

Don't see Jokic caring about the regular season enough to win it.

Post #66 » by **cupcakesnake** » Fri Oct 13, 2023 1:43 pm

Sgt Major wrote:Last season Jokic was trying to get Murray and MPJ in the mix when they returned from injuries that kept em away for a very long time. Turned out nice.

I think Jokic would be a happy boy to never be a part of the MVP discussion again. I can't blame him after the "quality" of last year's discourse. Man, that was one of my least favorite long-form basketball discussions ever. Let's all promise ourselves to do better this year. :nod:

But more to your point, I would love to see Jokic facilitating the Murray and MPJ show. I don't think they need to change the playbook to do it, I think Denver just needs to emphasize finding easy shots for MPJ early. Golden State would start games just feeding Klay to see if they could get him hot and buy Curry and Durant an easy night. I can imagine a Denver offense where Jok is 3rd in FGA in the regular season. It wasn't actually that far off last year.

Post #67 » by **cupcakesnake** » Fri Oct 13, 2023 1:48 pm

Luka or Shai could get it if the Mavs or Thunder grab the 5 seed.
Tatum could get it if he steps up his scoring efficiency (or playmaking) and Boston is dominant.

Any of these scenarios probably require Jokic and Giannis taking their foot off the gas.
I would say Embiid too, but I think voters will be really adverse to another MVP campaign from him after last year. Embiid would have to get it done differently. Carrying Phili to a surprising season and upping his passing game, or being the backbone a #1 defense. I just don't think people will care about Embiid's scoring this year. We know you can pile up those regular season points, big fella. We need proof of concept that your game is going to be different this year come playoffs.

Jadoogar · Post #68 » by **Jadoogar** » Fri Oct 13, 2023 1:57 pm

cupcakesnake wrote:Luka or Shai could get it if the Mavs or Thunder grab the 5 seed.
Tatum could get it if he steps up his scoring efficiency (or playmaking) and Boston is dominant.

Any of these scenarios probably require Jokic and Giannis taking their foot off the gas.
I would say Embiid too, but I think voters will be really adverse to another MVP campaign from him after last year. Embiid would have to get it done differently. Carrying Phili to a surprising season and upping his passing game, or being the backbone a #1 defense. I just don't think people will care about Embiid's scoring this year. We know you can pile up those regular season points, big fella. We need proof of concept that your game is going to be different this year come playoffs.

It's still really rare for the MVP to be on a team lower than 3rd seed, mavs/thunder would need to get to the top 3 in the conference.

I think Jokic and Giannis have a chance because the top of both conferences are so strong. Bucks and Nuggets can't afford to coast because they'll have teams chasing them for the #1 spot. Part of the reason the Nuggets took their foot of the gas pedal last year was because the grizzlies were just so far behind.

Post #69 » by **cupcakesnake** » Fri Oct 13, 2023 2:06 pm

Jadoogar wrote:
cupcakesnake wrote:Luka or Shai could get it if the Mavs or Thunder grab the 5 seed.
Tatum could get it if he steps up his scoring efficiency (or playmaking) and Boston is dominant.

Any of these scenarios probably require Jokic and Giannis taking their foot off the gas.
I would say Embiid too, but I think voters will be really adverse to another MVP campaign from him after last year. Embiid would have to get it done differently. Carrying Phili to a surprising season and upping his passing game, or being the backbone a #1 defense. I just don't think people will care about Embiid's scoring this year. We know you can pile up those regular season points, big fella. We need proof of concept that your game is going to be different this year come playoffs.

It's still really rare for the MVP to be on a team lower than 3rd seed, mavs/thunder would need to get to the top 3 in the conference.

I think Jokic and Giannis have a chance because the top of both conferences are so strong. Bucks and Nuggets can't afford to coast because they'll have teams chasing them for the #1 spot. Part of the reason the Nuggets took their foot of the gas pedal last year was because the grizzlies were just so far behind.

Historically true but we've had 2x 6 seeds win it in the last 7 years. Have an exciting, statistically dominant season alongside the perception of your team overachieving, and you're a very strong candidate for voters.

I'm not saying the Nuggets or Bucks won't try to get the #1 seed. I'm more imagining neither team relying on their individual dominance as much as they have in the past. But this is just a scenario. I'm not saying these 2 aren't the clear favorites going into the season. They both won it multiple times and are still in their primes.

Ambrose · Post #70 » by **Ambrose** » Fri Oct 13, 2023 3:35 pm

I could see there being a push for Jokic after what happened last year. If he sweeps all the metrics again and Denver is close to the top seed it should still be him.

CobraCommander · Post #71 » by **CobraCommander** » Fri Oct 13, 2023 4:13 pm

The Tatum and Luka money looking reallly good right now...one of them will win...

I’m gonna put a G on Luka and a K on Tatum...

kinda hard not to win knowing that :

1st...Jokic and Giannis are the best players but they are both now playing for rings because they one of only 15 guys with multiple MVPs amd both will be playing for championships..

2nd no one giving the 3rd best guy another MVP with how he “hardens” in the playoffs...so..

3rd. Nba likes narratives and the narrative will be its more than likely Luka or Tatums turn...

-Luke- · Post #72 » by **-Luke-** » Fri Oct 13, 2023 4:35 pm

Big J wrote:Don't see Jokic caring about the regular season enough to win it.

I agree that he probably won't care much, but I also think he didn't care much last season and still almost won and maybe would have won if the MVP discussion had not been poisoned.

Right now before the season I would see the odds like this:

1. Jokic
small gap
2. Tatum / Giannis
bigger gap
4. Luka (depending on the Mavs record)
gap
5. everyone else (Curry, Durant, Embiid, SGA, ...)

shangrila · Post #73 » by **shangrila** » Sat Oct 14, 2023 4:47 am

-Luke- wrote:
Big J wrote:Don't see Jokic caring about the regular season enough to win it.

I agree that he probably won't care much, but I also think he didn't care much last season and still almost won and maybe would have won if the MVP discussion had not been poisoned.

Right now before the season I would see the odds like this:

1. Jokic
small gap
2. Tatum / Giannis
bigger gap
4. Luka (depending on the Mavs record)
gap
5. everyone else (Curry, Durant, Embiid, SGA, ...)

I expect the Nuggets to not take the regular season as seriously this season so if the Bucks/Celtics wind up winning the East I'd say it's a toss up between Tatum or Giannis.

I don't see Luka having much of a chance outside of an absurd season, Westbrook-style. The Mavs just aren't a good team and record is often the tipping point in these discussions. Especially with voter fatigue that might be lingering with Jokic and Embiid already getting his pity award.

Bank Shot · Post #74 » by **Bank Shot** » Sat Oct 14, 2023 5:13 pm

It will be Jokic's if he wants it. There will be a lot of voters who feel like they owe him one. He's also going to dominate statistically, even if he's playing at three-quarter speed for stretches. I don't see Tatum winning it. Boston will likely have the top record but his counting stats are going to dip due to the Celtics being loaded and he's going to lose some votes due to all the help. I also think the media would feel weird about giving it to a guy who is a significantly worse player than Jokic. Dallas won't be good, so I can't see Luka winning it. Giannis is #2 but he is probably going to lose votes due to having another superstar on his team. That's been the pattern in the past.

MavsDirk41 · Post #75 » by **MavsDirk41** » Sat Oct 14, 2023 6:15 pm

I got Tatum this year but of course pulling for Luka but i dont think the Mavs will be good enough for him to get serious consideration

AleksandarN · Post #76 » by **AleksandarN** » Sat Oct 14, 2023 10:16 pm

Jokic will get MVP. He is the brain child of this offense. He draws plays for his teammates. How many players in the league does this? Maybe CP3 and Lebron if that.

Read on Twitter

eyeatoma · Post #77 » by **eyeatoma** » Sun Oct 15, 2023 3:00 am

Bank Shot wrote:It will be Jokic's if he wants it. There will be a lot of voters who feel like they owe him one. He's also going to dominate statistically, even if he's playing at three-quarter speed for stretches. I don't see Tatum winning it. Boston will likely have the top record but his counting stats are going to dip due to the Celtics being loaded and he's going to lose some votes due to all the help. I also think the media would feel weird about giving it to a guy who is a significantly worse player than Jokic. Dallas won't be good, so I can't see Luka winning it. Giannis is #2 but he is probably going to lose votes due to having another superstar on his team. That's been the pattern in the past.

Oh right winning two isn't enough lol. But he's owed one? How does that work?

ChartFiction · Post #78 » by **ChartFiction** » Sun Oct 15, 2023 4:00 am

Going to put out a hot take and say Wemby is ending up somewhere top 3 in MVP voting

p0peye · Post #79 » by **p0peye** » Sun Oct 15, 2023 1:45 pm

ChartFiction wrote:Going to put out a hot take and say Wemby is ending up somewhere top 3 in MVP voting

That 2029/30 season will indeed be interesting.

Twizlers · Post #80 » by **Twizlers** » Sun Oct 15, 2023 4:09 pm

I feel like last year when the season started it seemed obvious Jokic was not going for any MVP and although his stats were still great, they weren't MVP level. Then a month or 2 into it, he started turning on the gas out of necessity for his team which elevated his game to clear MVP level. And of course we know how the final part of the season played out, he was so turned off by the talk plus Nuggets were pretty sure fire to get the 1st seed that he started sitting games knowing it would take him out of the MVP talk. Then playoffs started and everyone wonders how Jokic didn't get MVP.

Essentially Jokic is the best player in the world and when he needs to, he can turn on a gear that no one can top. Unless the Nuggets have just as good play coming from his teammates this year as last year, I think he will have to be on that higher gear for the vast majority of the season which should net him a 3rd MVP.

Who will be the 2023-24 NBA MVP?