The NBA MVP race is spectacular because four different players have a legitimate chance of winning it. Right now, Milwaukee\u2019s Giannis Antetokounmpo is in the pole position as he\u2019s again pieced together an MVP-caliber campaign. Can anyone else beat him to the award or will he go back-to-back? Let\u2019s take a look at the updated odds: <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is the deserved leader at this point. Giannis Antetokounmpo is averaging 30 points, 13 rebounds, and six assists per game. That puts him second in points per game and he leads the league in PER. He is all over the floor and what\u2019s more is that he isn\u2019t killing himself each game for the Bucks. He is averaging 30.7 minutes per game in the process of averaging 30 points per game. That means he is basically scoring one point per minute, which is insane. A 30-point double-double with 13 rebounds is ridiculous. If the Milwaukee Bucks get the best overall record in the NBA at the end of the regular season, it will be very hard to deny that Giannis is the most important player in the league, indeed its most valuable one. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The LeBron Show is still dazzling: 25 points, eight rebounds, and 11 assists per game. If the Lakers finish first in the West and the Bucks fall out of the top seed in the East, LeBron would have a very strong argument to make. He is making his Laker teammates better and while he isn\u2019t scoring 30 points, those 11 assists say a lot about how much he is helping his teammates grow and develop. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The challenge is the help from Anthony Davis. While he clearly improves their chances of winning the NBA Championship, he also hurts LeBron\u2019s chances at this award because he\u2019s also a candidate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The scoring prowess of Harden is extraordinary. Harden averages 36 points, to go along with six rebounds and seven assists per game. He is a scoring machine who is probably the best drawer of fouls in NBA history. It is hard to remember another player who was so skilled at forcing defenders to bump him when off balance, giving referees the ability to easily call and identify a foul, especially a shooting foul. Harden\u2019s hesitation moves and footwork are extremely hard for opposing defenders to read. He gets to the free throw line regularly and piles up the stats. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The problem for Harden is that the Rockets are only 31-18 and are looking like they\u2019ll finish in the neighborhood of fourth or sixth in the Western Conference. That won\u2019t be good enough to make him MVP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The possibility of Luka Doncic registering a triple-double is keeping him in the race as a fourth possibility behind Giannis, Harden and LeBron. Doncic currently averages 29 points, 10 rebounds, and nine assists. If he can finish the season averaging at least 10 rebounds and assists, he will get that triple-double average, which will be hard to look past for MVP voters. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The issue is that the Mavs are just sixth in the standings and now Doncic is banged up again. He\u2019s fallen behind a little bit but if he gets back healthy and can push the Mavs into a top-four seed, he\u2019ll have a shot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The big man for the Lakers averages 27 points, nine rebounds, and three assists. Davis is the longshot out of all these because he\u2019s still viewed as the Robin to LeBron\u2019s Batman. He needs LeBron to slow down in addition to Giannis and Harden falling off the pace. LeBron is likely to get more votes among Laker players. Davis is somewhat boxed in here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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