We’ve reached the midpoint of an NBA season that has been filled with injuries to top players — Luka Doncic and Joel Embiid already have missed too many games to qualify for end-of-season awards — and plenty of surprises, like the Cleveland Cavaliers atop the East and the fast rise of the Houston Rockets in the West. The midpoint also means it’s time to take stock of the NBA postseason awards. All week long, I will make my picks for some of the NBA’s top awards at this point in the season. Today: MVP.
NBA MVP: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
2. Nikola Jokic
3. Jayson Tatum
4. Giannis Antetokounmpo
5. Victor Wembanyama
This is a virtual dead heat right now between Gilgeous-Alexander and Jokic for the top spot — if this were the end of the season, I would have lost a lot of sleep trying to pick between them. I ultimately leaned toward SGA because of his defense on Oklahoma City’s stifling best defense in the league (which is 3.8 points per 100 possessions better than second-place Orlando). But this is an even race with half a season to go.
Gilgeous Alexander is averaging 31.4 points, 5.9 assists, 5.5 rebounds and 2 steals a game, while Jokic is averaging 31.2 points, 13.2 rebounds and 9.8 assists (plus 1.8 steals). The argument for Jokic is he has a heavier lift — Denver does not have the depth of talent around Joikic that OKC does around SGA. There’s some truth to that, but Gilgeous-Alexander is leading a team running away with a deep Western Conference (6.5 games ahead of second-place Houston). Again, this is a coin flip.
I think two other players — Jayson Tatum and Giannis Antetokounmpo — could rise to the top spot by the end of the season.
Tatum remains incredibly efficient averaging 28.1 points, 9.4 rebounds and 5.3 assists for the champion Celtics, having taken a step forward this season into a slightly larger role on a team battling injuries the first part of the year. Antetokounmpo is putting up video game numbers — 31.4 points, 11.9 rebounds and 6 assists a game — and the intensity and focus of his play helped the Bucks turn around their slow start and win the NBA Cup. A strong enough second half from Tatum or Antetokounmpo could vault them to the top.
The fifth spot was another tough choice. Jalen Brunson is the beating heart of a Knicks offense that has been a force this season and he could well be No. 5 on my board, but the defensive concerns and credit for that offense also going to Karl-Anthony Towns bumped Brunson down one spot in my book to sixth. By the end of the season, this may flip.
Right now, however, Victor Wembanyama is fifth on my ballot. He is running away with Defensive Player of the Year while averaging 25.1 points and 10.8 rebounds a game. His play, with Chris Paul feeding him the rock, has dragged the Spurs to 18-19 on the season and in the mix for one of the final play-in spots in the West — way ahead of schedule. What is asked of Wembanyama nightly, considering the team around him, is massive, and defense matters a lot in these rankings (see SGA in first). Wemby is fifth on my board for now, but that might change before the season ends.
