There are 4 front runners in the very tight race for the Most Valuable Player award this season. LeBron James, Joel Embiid, Nikola Jokic, and Kevin Durant are the athletes at the top of this battle for the accolade.
At the moment, Joel Embiid is who everyone is talking about to receive this honor when this season draws to a conclusion. He is putting up stellar numbers while leading his team in a very dominant fashion to a top seed in the Eastern Conference. The one question mark with Embiid is his durability, as he has never played above 64 games in a season, not to mention the two seasons he completely missed and the other season where he only was featured in 16 games. While I agree if Embiid can stay healthy he will most likely be the favorite, I can not necessarily see a circumstance where he isn’t load managed or rested to the point where he doesn’t reach the 70 game mark again.
Kevin Durant is a very interesting option for the Most Valuable Player award this upcoming season due to his phenomenal numbers night in and night out. Durant’s stats this season remind me very much of Steph Curry’s unanimous MVP season. While Curry averaged 30 points 5 rebounds and 6 assists a night, KD is currently putting up 30 Points 7 rebounds and 5 assists… similar, right? The argument that can be made against Durant is that he is on one of the greatest offensive powerhouse teams to ever step on an NBA court. If Embiid doesn’t participate in at least 70 games, I think the former MVP may be able to solidify his status as a 2-time award winner.
The King is in the conversation for this award every single year. I think it is well deserved due to the fact that LeBron is constantly making the players around him better and always finds a way to win. Although James has definitely had better statistical years than he is this year, I do believe that if this Lakers team wins enough games it will incredibly increase LBJ’s chances at winning the award. Lebron is certainly not the favorite this year but I find it difficult to ever count one of the greats from the MVP conversation. After all, James is very valuable to the Los Angeles Lakers and without him I believe they would struggle.
