10 players in the NBA MVP conversation

The journey toward 2018-19 NBA MVP honors is undeniably a two-man race as of the final week of January. On Jan. 20, Gilles Gallant of OddsShark wrote how Houston Rockets superstar James Harden and Milwaukee Bucks unicorn Giannis Antetokounmpo separated from the pack following the holiday season, with one seemingly guaranteed to hoist the trophy following the campaign. Unlike when Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry won the award unanimously, Harden and Antetokounmpo may split the vote. Could this lead to a sleeper pick rising up the MVP ladder before Game 82?

The greatest player of the 2010s, seen by some as the G.O.A.T., hasn’t won MVP once during the second half of the decade. That trend probably isn’t changing in 2019, but is that fair? His absence from his side’s lineup since he suffered a groin injury on Christmas Day, not to mention his team’s record over that period, shouldn’t go unnoticed by voters. Whether or not one thinks LeBron James is the league’s best player this winter isn’t the debate. Is there really a more valuable single asset in the NBA today than King James? 

LeBron James 
In May 2018, NBA.com staff argued over if LeBron James is “technically the league's MVP every year.” Ask the Los Angeles Lakers what life without the three-time champion averaging 27.3 PPG, 8.3 RPG, 7.1 APG and shooting nearly 52 percent from the field has been like since Dec. 27. The Lakers dropped nine of 14 contests with James sidelined, and they dropped out of the playoff spots in the Western Conference standings. The “V” in the award stands for “valuable.” If Antetokounmpo or Harden don’t win MVP, James should run away with it. As Joe Vardon of The Athletic recently wrote, the Golden State Warriors realize what James’ return will mean for the Lakers.  

Kevin Durant 
One argument against voting for Kevin Durant is that a team with two true MVP candidates actually has none. Respectfully, Durant and Golden State Warriors teammate Curry (more on Curry later) probably aren’t eyeing regular-season honors ahead of what could be an end-of-an-era championship run. While Durant (28.0 PPG) is second behind Curry in scoring (29.3 PPG), it’s the two-time reigning NBA Finals MVP who is fifth overall in win shares, per Basketball-Reference.com. Still, history tells us Curry will, at the very least, claim votes that otherwise may have gone Durant’s way. Curry missing another stretch of games before the postseason may be Durant’s only path to winning MVP. 

Paul George 
Will we still rate Paul George ahead of Russell Westbrook in Oklahoma City Thunder player power rankings by the end of winter? This is the question hovering over George’s MVP status. George is enjoying a career season, posting personal bests in multiple categories (27.0 PPG, 7.9 RPG, 2.3 STL) while leading the Thunder in scoring. Westbrook’s struggles from the field — he’s shooting worse (41.6 percent) than at any point since his rookie year (39.8 percent) — have added to George’s burden at the offensive end of the court, but the 28-year-old has responded. However, Westbrook again averaging a triple-double may cost George votes down the road, especially if the 2016-17 MVP locates his shooting form. 

Nikola Jokic 
Those looking to earn some money, legally speaking, on NBA MVP odds may think about putting a few bucks on Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic. They should remember that, fair or not, award-voting processes are popularity contests. Jokic is more than just the best player on one of the best teams in the Western Conference. As was pointed out on NBA.com in December, he may already be the greatest passing center in league history. While the 23-year-old leads the Nuggets in scoring (19.6 PPG), rebounding (10.0 RPG), passing (7.7 APG), steals (1.33 SPG) and win shares (6.7, good for eighth overall), he is still only 23 and he isn’t producing as did Harden, Westbrook, Curry, Durant or James during their MVP campaigns. Even if the Nuggets finish atop the conference standings, Jokic will probably come up short in voting. 

Kyrie Irving 
It wasn’t supposed to be like this for Boston Celtics guard Kyrie Irving. Irving leaving James and the Cleveland Cavaliers for Beantown and a roster that featured the one-time champion, Gordon Hayward and Al Horford among others, was supposed to usher in a new dynasty in the East. The odds of that happening now are slim, if they exist at all, but Bleacher Report's Dan Favale and Kyle Porch of Flurry Sports both argued Irving’s MVP candidacy earlier this month. Irving leading the Celtics in scoring (23.5 PPG) and assists (6.9 APG) won’t be enough for him to win MVP if Boston sits fifth in the standings at the end of the regular season. How many wins would Boston need for Irving to leapfrog several other contenders in the conference? 

Joel Embiid
For a piece updated on Jan. 22, David Murphy of Philly.com offered his case for why Philadelphia 76ers big man Joel Embiid deserves MVP votes: “Combined, the Sixers have been 11.8 points better per 100 possessions with Embiid on the court.” Murphy added the only two players with similar numbers are Durant (plus-17.9) and Curry (plus-15.7). Playing alongside Jimmy Butler on a nightly basis probably isn’t always a picnic, and that reality may strengthen the argument for Embiid sitting so high in the MVP conversation. Being the best player on the conference’s best team (the 76ers began Jan. 23 fourth in the East) could allow Embiid to enter a two-player race come springtime. He needs to get there first, though. 

Stephen Curry
As with James, it’s possible some casual fans, particularly viewers in Eastern time zones who are unable to watch games that tip off at 10:30 pm local time, only appreciate Curry’s overall value to the Golden State Warriors when he isn’t on the court. A strained groin cost the all-time great three-point shooter 11 games during the fall, and Golden State dropped six of those contests. Now healthy, the 30-year-old is third in the league in scoring (29.2 PPG) and is the top scorer for the team that should finish first in the conference standings as long as Curry and his teammates remain interested in earning results until the postseason tournament begins. 

Kawhi Leonard 
It must be nice that the Toronto Raptors know they can hang with and even defeat opponents when Kawhi Leonard is a spectator, particularly on the second end of back-to-back contests. Still, the 27-year-old is the best player on what is, as of the typing of this sentence, the team possessing the league’s second-best record. That has to count for something, or at least it does when the person isn’t starting for the Golden State Warriors and also isn’t LeBron James. Along with leading the Raptors in scoring (27.6 PPG), Leonard is his side’s best rebounder (7.9) and top defender (leads the team with 1.94 SPG). As Micah Adams of NBA.com recently wrote, though, the number of games Leonard is on pace to miss stands out in MVP conversations. 

James Harden 
Remember when the Houston Rockets were a dumpster fire after starting the season 1-4? That was before James Harden decided to make mockeries of historic league stats. As Michael Kaskey-Blomain of CBS Sports explained on Jan. 21, Harden joined Wilt Chamberlain as the second player in league history to score 30-plus points across 20 consecutive games. The 29-year-old is not only averaging 35.7 PPG, which has him well ahead of the likes of Anthony Davis (29.3) and Stephen Curry (29.2), but also that number is good for seventh all time in any single season. According to Zach Kram of The Ringer, Harden would still be leading the NBA in scoring if league rules removed free throws and the three-point line. The MVP conversation begins with Harden. It may end with him, too. 

Giannis Antetokounmpo
Harden, the reigning regular-season MVP, is the flavor of the month in that he’d win the award if votes were tallied at the end of January. NBC Sports writers Dan Feldman and Dane Delgado (h/t Yahoo Sports) and Colin Ward-Henninger, Jack Maloney and DJ Siddiqi of CBS Sports gave their midseason nods to Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Greek Freak isn’t averaging over 40 points in January as is Harden, but the 24-year-old is enjoying the best season of his career, tallying 26.5 PPG, 12.6 RPG, 5.9 APG, 1.4 BLKPG, and 1.3 STL while shooting a career-best 57.8 percent. The previously mentioned Delgado also named Antetokounmpo his midseason Defensive Player of the Year. Oh yeah: The Bucks happen to hold the best record in the league at 34-12.