META: The NBA MVP contenders are always hotly debated, but the last few years have seen more interest than normal with the rise of the game in Europe. Let’s take a look at the runners and riders for this year’s race.
There’s always a lot of interest generated in the annual MVP awards in NBA circles. Fans and players are united in their love of analyzing season performances, key moments, and how each player nominated has done the hard work to elevate their teams in the rankings. Here are a few of the main contenders with one or two surprises thrown in.
There are five key players and ten notable mentions to make, so let’s get going.
There are some players who didn’t make the cut – who are they?
First things first, two notable players didn’t make the cut and this has got to be addressed. Sacramento Kings forward/center Veteran Domantas Sabonis snapped a string of three consecutive triple-doubles Wednesday in a 102-98 road win over the Denver Nuggets. His performance helped him to his third season with 50 double-doubles or more.
However, he and his teammate De’Aaron Fox were left out in the cold when the Western Conference All-Stars for 2024 were announced and some fans thought this was a snub. It’s not what it seems to be – word is that the talent in the West is good enough to mean that these two respected players had to miss out. It’s a shame, but not entirely unexpected.
So if your thoughts are turning to placing a bet on who will win – how are you going to decide? Well, checking out the NBA live bets on 10bet’s trusted basketball betting site is one way to help you make your mind up.
The top 5 MVP Contenders
To help you even further, here are the top fifteen contenders – and a few European surprises thrown in.
ONE: Nikola Jokic – Denver Nuggets
Stats for the season: 26.1 ppg, 12 rpg, 8.9 apg
The club has unfortunately had two three-game losing streaks this season. However, Jokic has managed a fifteen-game run of games and scored over 20 points. He genuinely needed this break and he’s still ranked as the number one this week.
TWO: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander – Oklahoma City Thunder
Stats for the season: 31.1 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 6.5 apg
Gilgeous-Alexander is a first-time All-Star starter, who basically owns the MVP momentum. This is, in part, due to him having crushed Shaquille O’Neal’s Orlando Jersey retirement night by delivering a 32-point effort in a 127-113 victory for Oklahoma City.
He managed to reel off 13 points during the course of a supreme five-minute stretch in the final quarter of the game. He’s currently number one in steals and at the time of writing remains just fourteen points from overtaking Giannis Antetokounmpo to lead the league.
THREE: Giannis Antetokounmpo – Milwaukee Bucks
Stats for the season: 31.1 ppg, 11.2 rpg, 6.4 apg
The Greek Freak makes it into the All-Star break heading toward becoming the first player in NBA history to average 30-plus points on a 60% shooting in a single season. However, the two-time MVP needs to work on getting everyone on the team singing from the same hymn sheet.
Their loss in Memphis last Thursday highlighted the choppy sea waters the team is in after they fired their first-year coach Adrian Griffin and hired Doc Rivers.
FOUR: Luka Doncic – Dallas Mavericks
Stats for the season: 34.2 ppg, 8.8 rpg, 9.5 apg
Doncic was named Western Conference Player of the Week on Monday. This was after a successful week, leading the Dallas team to a 4-0 week. There, he averaged nearly a triple-double, Doncic led his team to two more victories as they headed into the season break.
FIVE: Jayson Tatum – Boston Celtics
Stats for the season: 27.1 ppg, 8.6 rpg, 4.8 apg
Tatum is being hotly followed by Kahwi Leonard, so don’t be surprised if both players’ rankings change in the next week or so. However, Tatum scored forty-one points in Brooklyn on Tuesday which meant he achieved his third forty-point game of the season and the twenty-fifth of his career.
Let’s now take a quick look at the final ten contenders for the MVP title. It’s worth noting that at the time of writing Kahwi Leonard and Domantas Sabonis are currently tied in position 6 – so there’s no position 7.
The next ten contenders:
6. Kawhi Leonard – LA Clippers
6. Domantas Sabonis – Sacramento Kings
8. Donovan Mitchell – Cleveland Cavaliers
9. Kevin Durant – Phoenix Suns
10. Anthony Davis – Los Angeles Lakers
11: Devin Booker – Phoenix Suns
12: Jalen Brunson – New York Knicks
13: Anthony Edwards – Minnesota Timberwolves
14: Tyrese Haliburton – Indiana Pacers
15: Karl-Anthony Towns – Minnesota Timberwolves.
So those are the current top five contenders as we stand at the end of February. It’s all to play for and things could change rapidly over the next few weeks.
