5. Luka Doncic - Luka magic led the Mavs to a stellar record of 52-30 with many MVP moments, including a statement win in Milwaukee against the defending champs where he posted 32 points, 15 assists, and 8 rebounds. Luka without another all-star on his team all year has been the entire Mavs offense at times as he has put the team on his back when needed. Averages of 28, 9, and 9, on 46% FG without a true co-star to take the pressure off of him illustrates the extraordinary workload put upon the Slovenian point guard in a season where they needed Luka to be magical.
4. Devin Booker - Devin Booker tends to be overshadowed in the mainstream media when discussing the MVP award. Names like Demar Derozan, Ja Morant, and Stephen Curry before his injury usually get more regularly discussed. Despite this, Devin Booker coming off a heartbreaking NBA finals loss had a great season with averages of 27, 5, and 5 on 47% FG. This stat line added to an NBA best 64-18 record should give Devin Booker a great chance at the award. Devin Booker is the best player on the best team this year and it is very surprising that he doesn't get the recognition he deserves.
3. Giannis Antetokounmpo - The top 3 MVP candidates all would most likely win the award in any other year, but with 3 historical seasons by 3 different players all in the same year, someone needs to come 2nd and 3rd place. Giannis posted a career-high 30 Ppg, 12 Rb, and 6 assists per game. Giannis led the Bucks to the 3rd seed in the eastern conference with a record of 51-31. His statistics have been better this year than his two prior MVP years, but voter recency bias may creep into the minds of some voters who want someone new to win the award. All in all, Giannis is deserving of the MVP award just as much as anybody this year and had arguably his best year.
2. Nikola Jokic - The Reigning Serbian MVP of the NBA had a historical sequel in this year's season. He averaged 27 points, 14 rebounds, and 8 assists on 58% FG. Jokic led the Denver Nuggets without Jamal Murray or Michael Porter Jr to the 6th seed in the west with a record of 48-34. Nikola Jokic leads the NBA in PER and is very deserving of back-to-back MVP awards. His playmaking ability has shades of Magic Johnson as he always finds the open man. Jokic is also an underrated defender as he is near the top of the NBA in steals at 1.5 per game, and is a serviceable rim protector. Jokic is extremely valuable to his team.
1. Joel Embiid - After finishing in second place last year for the Mvp award, Joel might possibly finish 2nd place again. Joel tallied a career-high 31 ppg, 12 Rbs, and 4 assists with a 50% FG. He led the Sixers to a 51-31 record. He did this without his 2nd best player in Ben Simmons for 65% of the season, and James Harden has struggled to find his fit in Philly's offense so far. Joel led the NBA in scoring and played the most games he's ever played in a season with 68 games played. The Sixers overachieved massively given the circumstances and were only 3 games back of the top seed in the conference. Joel Embiid had an outstanding season and is very deserving of the MVP award.
Giannis is better hands down
Good in-depth analysis!