Oftentimes during the course of a season, it is clear who is going to be the MVP ahead of time. Whether they are putting up amazing stats over the rest of the competitors or whether their team is winning, there is often a clear frontrunner for the award all season. However this year, there are plenty of superstars who are making their cases to be the MVP, and oftentimes, the numbers back them up.
Recently StatMuse has posted a Tweet containing the statistical achievements of every mainstream MVP candidate. All of them have improved in one way or another, and it is hard to pick who wins the award, based on their numbers.
The MVP race.
Bron:
👑 26/8/8
👑 50/40/72%
👑 Career-low MPG
Embiid:
😭 29/11/3
😭 55/38/86%
😭 Career-high PPG, FG%, 3P%, FT%
KD:
💀 30/7/5
💀 53/45/87%
💀 Better FG%, 3P%, RPG, BPG than his MVP season
Jokic:
🃏 28/12/9
🃏 57/40/85%
🃏 Only player in top-10 in PPG, RPG, APG pic.twitter.com/Js6FXF6pC6
— StatMuse (@statmuse) February 10, 2021
All of these players are impressive, and not just because of the numbers. Kevin Durant is even better than he was before the injury, doing better efficiency-wise and playing better defense than he did before the injury. LeBron James is still averaging statistics we expect out of him, despite playing a career-low in MPG. Joel Embiid has improved every aspect of his scoring and looks more like he did during 2019. Nikola Jokic is a stat-sheet machine, tracking up stats in every category and cementing himself as the best passing big man ever.
This is the most interesting MVP race in a long time, as Joel Embiid and Nikola Jokic are showing what they can really do, while LeBron James and Kevin Durant are maintaining their long excellence. Hopefully, all four can keep up their statistics over the course of the season: this provides excitement and good competition is always good for fans. Basketball games featuring any of these players facing off are must-watch TV.
The MVP award is often based on narrative and stats: what happens when everyone has a compelling story and superb statistics? What ends up happening is a suspenseful MVP race, and that is good for the NBA in terms of being an exciting product. Either of these players could win the MVP, and no-one would be shocked. That’s how we know the NBA is an exciting league: the variety and the quality of the current NBA talent is absolutely elite.
