The NBA Most Valuable Player award is one that tends to raise a lot of disagreement and dispute amongst members of the basketball community. The regular season MVP is renowned as the most prestigious individual award that can be won in the world of basketball. For this reason, it carries a lot of weight to the majority of players, and seemingly even more so to the fans that are extremely invested in their favorite players and teams, which may consist of MVP candidates in certain seasons. The MVP debate always fosters great discussions and general discourse amongst opposing fans, year in and year out. It is one of the more polarizing factors of every NBA season, but it provides us with the opportunity to witness a race-to-greatness that only the elite of the elite can compete for.
My Honorable Mentions
The 2023-24 season is no exception to this notion, as I would say we find ourselves relatively unsure of who will come out ahead in the MVP race, with a mere seven games remaining to be played. What I personally can say with confidence, however, is that there are three names that stand out ahead of the others. Before that though, I’d like to name Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jayson Tatum as two honorable mentions that I left off my list. Giannis is having an MVP-caliber season averaging 31 points, 12 rebounds, and 6 dimes, and Tatum’s 27 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists have led the Celtics to the best record in the league. I’d also like to show some love to Joel Embiid.
The reigning MVP was on an absolute tear prior to experiencing a meniscus injury and undergoing surgery on his left knee. This injury has had him sidelined for over two months now, so it is quite self-explanatory why I left him off my top three list. These two players, who in any other season may have had a real case for the MVP award with their current performances, did not make my cut for the top three this time. I mention this to shed light on how talented and skilled the NBA has become, and how much players have advanced and the league has evolved since prior years. I feel like this is especially relevant to discuss when comparing what used to warrant an MVP award and how the expectation-level and standard has skyrocketed as of late.
My Top 3 Front-Runner Candidates
This season, the three names that I would say are ahead of the pack for a series of different reasons include Nikola Jokić, Luka Dončić, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. These three individuals have displayed exceptional individual ability, showed their value to their respective rosters and showed the impact that they have on the success of their teams. I'd like to raise the point that the criteria and conditions for winning an MVP seem to change every season. For example, there is currently a heavier debate than ever before on whether or not team success should be valued, and how much, if so. This inconsistency and variation in criteria is one of the reasons I feel that the award may start to lose value if the issue is not resolved. For this reason, I will be showcasing how these players have been performing statistically this season, as well as raising any noteworthy factors to consider or memorable moments from their seasons so far. That way, you can all make the decision of who you believe deserves to win for yourself, following your own criteria and personal priorities regarding what makes a player deserving of this profoundly acclaimed hardware.
Nikola Jokić Averages
Nikola Jokić is averaging 26 points, 12 rebounds, and 9 assists in 34.5 minutes played per night. He is shooting 58% from the field, 35% from the 3-point line, and 83% from the free throw line. He also adds 1.3 steals and a block to that stat-line. The big man has played and started in 72 of the Denver Nuggets’ 75 games played this season.
Nikola Jokić Key Factors and Moments
Nikola Jokić is an NBA champion and former two-time MVP, which makes the public’s perception of his MVP campaign one that differs greatly from the other two on this list. NBA voting in the past has proven countless times that voter fatigue exists, and that if a player has already won the MVP and achieved other success in the league, it makes them less exciting of a story for basketball fans to follow and support. People love a good story, so the narrative and story behind a player’s season seems to matter.
Jokić is a very unproblematic and likable character, making him one of the league’s fan favorites. He is leading the Denver Nuggets to a current record of 52 wins and 23 losses, leaving them in second place in the stacked West, only 0.5 games behind OKC who are first in the conference currently. He is an extremely efficient and intelligent player, whose impact on the Nuggets is immense and unquestionable in ways that transcend your traditional box-score statistics. I find it funny because I personally feel like a less intelligent basketball mind when watching the Joker, as his continuous display of unprecedented high-IQ reads and adjustments on the go leave me mind blown and feeling crazy for not seeing them too. It is a fair assumption to make, based on his prior stances on such topics, that Nikola Jokić does not care too much about whether or not he wins the award. In fact, he even went on to say, after a game against the Dallas Mavericks, that he believes Luka Dončić “...deserves the MVP, 100 percent”. Despite this humility and selfless display of appreciation from Jokić, we can all agree that he is also a very strong candidate for this award, as he has been for the last half decade.
Luka Dončić Averages
Luka Dončić is averaging a league-leading 34 points, alongside 9 rebounds, and 10 assists in 37.4 minutes played per night. He is shooting 49% from the field, 38% from the 3-point line, and 79% from the charity stripe. He also adds 1.5 steals and half a block to that stat-line. Luka has played and started in 65 of the Dallas Mavericks’ 74 games played this season.
Luka Dončić Key Factors and Moments
Luka is widely referred to and regarded as one of the best players in the entire league (for a few years now) at only 25 years of age. He has already made four All-NBA First Teams, with this season surely adding a fifth to that list. As the face of the Dallas Mavericks, he has led them to a record of 45 wins and 29 losses so far this season. As the future face of the league, it has been quite clear that the general public have been giving Luka what I like to call, the “greatness treatment” despite his very young age. “Greatness treatment” can be seen when the fans and the public, and even league executives at times, underappreciate a player or try to discredit a player’s success simply because they are so great. No one likes to see another player torch their favorite team or teams, making Luka one of the top enemies for anyone that is not a Dallas Mavericks fan.
Luka’s accomplishments and feats have been oftentimes unsung or not discussed enough, and this season is a perfect example of that. Luka has not officially led the MVP race this season at any point, which I find to be absurd given his otherworldly averages. Some notable feats this season include Luka averaging a 35 point triple double since the All-Star break, and dropping the fourth highest scoring game in all of NBA history with his 73 point bomb against the Atlanta Hawks back in late January. Similarly to Jokić, Luka is a player who displays a wizard-like basketball IQ and playmaking ability. His unreal season has clearly paved the way for the team’s more recent success, alongside second-in-command Kyrie Irving. The Mavericks have now found themselves escaping the play-in tournament and are currently sat at fifth place in the West as things stand.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Averages
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 30 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists in 34.4 minutes played per night. He is shooting 54% from the field, 37% from the 3-point line, and 87% from the free throw line. Shai adds a league-leading 2.1 steals, as well as one block to that stat-line. He has played and started in 71 of the Oklahoma City Thunder’s 74 games played this season.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Key Factors and Moments
SGA is putting on an absolute clinic of a season for himself, and the Oklahoma City Thunder. He leads the way in their absolutely absurd team performance on the season, currently sitting atop the Western conference with a record of 52 wins and 22 losses. For a franchise who seem to have been rebuilding for the majority of recent history, their young core and deep squad needed someone to take that huge leap forward and grab the keys to the city.
That person was Shai, and this season specifically has proven to the basketball world and any doubters that he is a true superstar talent, and that he can put up superstar numbers on a consistent basis and translate these performances into wins. The Thunder are a great example of a very well-put-together roster, with different guys doing their roles so effectively that the entire team is able to experience astounding offensive and defensive output, long-term. For this reason, somewhat similarly to my earlier take on Tatum’s case, I feel as though many will claim that Shai should not win the award given that OKC’s success can be attributed more so to the balance of the team, rather than his own, undoubted, individual value as the key piece of the entire roster. His exemplary shooting percentage from the field as a guard in this league, among other factors, should keep him in the discussion for the MVP trophy this season.
Food for Thought
Again, the MVP award's criteria seems to be ever-changing, so I leave it up to you to assess all these relevant factors and make a decision for yourselves. All the players I discussed today are having seasons that would essentially be guaranteed MVP award-winning campaigns in most years over the last few decades. With the league’s talent and skill level at an all-time high, it has become clear that generational talent is standing in the way of a lot of these players’ hopes for an MVP trophy. There can only be one Most Valuable Player, and we are in for a very intense ending to this historic race to the finish line.