The race for the 2022 NBA MVP will be a close one. This season started showing us players having incredible nights, leading their teams to grab some victories, drawing a lot of attention around the association.
Players like Stephen Curry, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Ja Morant and more have demonstrated they are playing with a chip on their shoulder and won’t rest until they reach their goals. Curry and Giannis are a lock to fight for the MVP award, and Ja could surprise a lot of people in the next months.
At this stage of the season, one imagines these players are already making their cases to compete for the coveted award. Still, this league always saves a surprise for fans. Recently, The NBA Central found out Basketball-Reference MVP Award tracker has a ranking that differs a lot from what most fans think.
They have Utah Jazz’s star and 3x DPOY Rudy Gobert as the No. 1 candidate to take this award right now, surpassing Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler on the top 3. Gobert’s probability, as things stand now, is 60.7%
https://twitter.com/TheNBACentral/status/1453756159542824969
Of course, this didn’t sit well with fans, who instantly trashed the list. While some criticized Gobert, others supported him and the rest made a case for their favorite player.
https://twitter.com/bernard_dat/status/1453756315889803271https://twitter.com/xBBKx/status/1453756266950582283https://twitter.com/TonyPlankMaster/status/1453756314488918024https://twitter.com/nonbiasednbafan/status/1453756231622053899https://twitter.com/kalibribois/status/1453756302027640833https://twitter.com/officialmyles23/status/1453786800351289345https://twitter.com/Giannis34SZN/status/1453759164715397125https://twitter.com/runrunpasspunt/status/1453771815554273286https://twitter.com/TheMrIconic/status/1453758215087349764https://twitter.com/tyrese1717/status/1453757461333217282https://twitter.com/burner_edwards1/status/1453756408328069127https://twitter.com/hayescarroll_/status/1453756264429858818https://twitter.com/TravLCox/status/1453759318281490434https://twitter.com/joelwillwinmvp/status/1453756255676346376https://twitter.com/HanaHoops/status/1453782350920355841https://twitter.com/OGForThreee/status/1453756217751482368https://twitter.com/vanman_1000/status/1453758265037312008
This is very curious, but it makes sense since this tracker measures stats and it’s not based on what person’s opinion. Perhaps, if Rudy keeps this pace and these numbers, he could have a chance to grab the award.
Let’s not forget that Nikola Jokic won the award last season and Joel Embiid was No. 2 in the voting. Big men are making noise in the league and the Frenchman could do the same next year, although that looks like a very long shot.
