Author: Jack Gordon
The 2021-2022 NBA regular season is starting to wind down with only a few games remaining, which means that it’s finally time to start talking about who might be the MVP of the -
What’s that? We’ve been talking about it since week 1?
Well, either way, it’s actually going to be a difficult decision this year.
One of the weirdest things about the MVP award is that it’s all about narratives. Someone else claims the award every couple of weeks depending on how they’re playing, how the team is doing, and the kind of story that appeals to both fans and voters. Anybody that goes on a two-week tear can suddenly become the MVP.
Really early on it was Steph Curry that was labeled as the frontrunner, until he started to go into an extended shooting slump. Then KD had it for a bit, but he got injured. Then after about 30 or 40 games with the Bulls at the top of the East, every early-morning sports talk show led their program with the “HOW CAN YOU NOT HAVE DEMAR DEROZAN IN THE MVP DISCUSSION?!” take.
As a side note, I would just like to put this out there once and for all: Why is it so disrespectful not to mention a player as the MVP if we don’t actually think he’s a legitimate contender to win the award? All season long I turn on the TV and see Kendrick Perkins foaming at the mouth that we aren’t including Ja Morant or Derozan in the “MVP conversation.” Great, I guess I’m just required to mention their names if I’m talking about it? Stop getting so angry at us.
Anyway, the person that took the main narrative by mid-season was Joel Embiid. He was absolutely dominating other big men in some nationally televised games, and he hadn't won it before, so he became the guy.
And now, in a league that has drastically shifted towards guard play and shooting, the three contenders to win the MVP are ironically all big men: Embiid, Jokic, and Giannis.
We’ll start with the guy that I think everyone wants to give the award to: Joel Embiid. It’s pretty incredible that a guy who only played in 31 games in his first three seasons became one of the most consistent and durable players in the league (although we still need to see it last through the postseason). He’s second in the league in scoring at 29.8 PPG, to go along with 11.3 rebounds and 4.3 assists. It feels like it’s his time. This is a guy that is truly competitive and really cares. He’s a nightmare to deal with when he’s really being aggressive, and the near 12 free throw attempts per game is a testament to that. The other thing going for him is that it’s really impressive how he’s dealt with the crap show that has been the Sixers this year. Ben Simmons, along with maybe Kyrie Irving, was one of the most discussed players in the entire league, and the guy wasn’t even playing. Philly was dealing with severe media attention along with missing their second-best player and defensive stopper all year, and it was clear that Embiid didn’t care - he put his head down, decided to go for the MVP, and kept his team afloat near the top of the East. The thing going against Embiid is that it seems like there’s a possibility for this new-look team to flame out early in the playoffs in disappointing fashion once again, in which case we might look back and regret our decision. Although, it’s supposed to be a regular season award and that technically shouldn’t matter.
If you are going just purely based on the name of the award, Nikola Jokic should probably be the MVP. He is top 10 in the following categories: points, rebounds, assists, field goal percentage, and is far and away the most dominant fantasy basketball player this season. If you actually look at the Nuggets roster, it’s not very good. They’re missing both Jamal Murrary and Michael Porter Jr., and Jokic has had to essentially do everything for them - and that he has done. His stats are incredible, but all it takes to understand how good he is is to watch him play. He is the center of the universe on that team. As soon as he touches the ball, every player is suddenly cutting off of him or spotted up in the corner because they know that he can hit them at any moment. The most incredible thing that’s hard to grasp with him is that he’s somehow able to make a play at literally any time he needs to. Whether it’s a close game with the time running down or just a set in the first quarter, his skill and basketball IQ essentially makes it a guarantee that if he’s not going to score, then he’s going to draw a double and make an insane pass to create a wide open shot for a teammate. He has been the most dominant player this season, and has done the most with the least. He has a few things going against him: the first is that he won it last year, and voters typically like to spread the award around. The second is that despite the incredible plays he makes, he’s just not a sexy player. He does not have mass appeal with casual fans, and no matter what he does it's somehow always hard to believe that he’s good because he just doesn’t look it. The last and most important thing against his case for MVP is that the Nuggets are sixth in the West, with the potential to drop into the play-in tournament. At some point, it’s just not enough team success to warrant giving him the award.
Last but not least, Giannis Antetokounmpo is having as good of a season as ever, but his name has been rather quiet in the discussion. He essentially has the exact same stats as Embiid across the board, with the added factor that he is one of the best, if not the best, defensive players in the NBA. Not to mention that the Bucks have the exact same record as the Sixers, and will likely end up surpassing them. The case for Giannis is that he is as good as he’s ever been, has the stats to back it up, and is probably the second best player in the league and maybe it’s important to commemorate the fact that he is a generational talent. But make no mistake, this would not be a commemoration MVP. In fact, if Giannis had never won the MVP before, this might be a no brainer, but voter fatigue is a real issue. From an objective standpoint considering all the factors, Giannis probably deserves to win and there is really no case against him, but rather only a case for the others. What he has going against him is the voter fatigue and that the team came out to a slow start based on expectations, but there were a lot of reasons for that, including injuries, the championship hangover, and their top players coming off an Olympics run in Tokyo. And, since then, the team has picked it up and is still the most dependable pick to repeat as champions.
This is a weird year for the MVP, because there are three incredible candidates that it seems like not many people are very excited about (except maybe Embiid). The best part is that there is no wrong answer for a winner, and the worst part is that there will inevitably be two players who deserved the award that won’t win.
Who do I think should win, you ask? I really don’t know between the three guys, so I say give the MVP to Austin Reaves, the best player in the league.
SPORTS ARE OUR UNIVERSE
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