Every season, the MVP race is a topic that always lingers in the back of everyone’s mind. In a shortened year, the MVP talk begins earlier than usual because every game has more significance than in a regular season. Cutting just 10 games in a season makes the MVP race much more compelling. The MVP race will have a different meaning depending on who you ask; best player on the best team, best player in the league, most important to the league, every voter has a different expectation for the MVP.
This year’s MVP race started off similar to how others have been in recent years. LeBron James came in as a favourite, especially coming off the Lakers Championship in the Bubble. Luka Dončić popped off in the Bubble and media pundits immediately named him the favourite to win the award. Giannis Antetokounpo is the reigning 2-time MVP but has flamed out in the playoffs for two years straight. Other names like Joel Embiid and Nikola Jokic were mentioned but not given much love in Vegas.
LeBron and Embiid quickly proved themselves as the front-runners for the award. Embiid led the 76ers to 1st place in the Eastern Conference while carrying the offence under new head coach, Doc Rivers. Embiid was averaging close to 30 points per game, and over 11 rebounds, while being the focal point of the team’s offence and anchored the middle on defense. In the first game after the All-Star break, Embiid hyperextended his knee and was immediately sidelined. He was originally expected to miss 3 weeks, which in a shortened season, could be close to 20% of the games.
LeBron James started the year on a mission. We all thought LeBron would coast this year (queue Danny Green saying he wouldn’t be surprised if LeBron sat the first month of the year). LeBron did the exact opposite of that and made sure that he played every game that he was available for. He’s averaging a casual 25-8-8, pretty much what we expect out of LeBron every game. But what we didn’t expect was for LeBron to go down with a high ankle sprain, that he suffered on March 20th against the Hawks. The Lakers said that he’s expected to be out indefinitely, but this type of ankle sprain usually holds players out for at least a month. With LeBron’s focus on another championship run, we can expect him to make sure that he’s healthy before coming back to the court.
The NBA: "The next season will start on December 22!"@DGreen_14, doing his best Magic Johnson impression: "I'm not gonna be there." pic.twitter.com/tJx2kxCBfY
— The Ringer (@ringer) October 26, 2020
With injuries to the two front runners, the MVP race is wide open again. Nikola Jokic became the leading favourite in Vegas, while the likelihood of LeBron or Embiid wining is still high. If the current trends continue, players like Chris Paul and Damian Lillard will also need to be considered for the MVP award as they continue to lead their teams to more victories while the Lakers fall off the West. The MVP award rarely goes to a player who doesn’t lead one of the best records (except for Russell Westbrook’s triple double MVP year). The race now has opened up, and has allowed for more candidates to be considered. The voters will have a hell of a decision to make in May.
