This Thursday night is about as big as they come for regular-season NBA action.
At 8:00 p.m. ET Thursday, the 24-4 Eastern Conference-leading Milwaukee Bucks will host the 24-4 Western Conference-leading Los Angeles Lakers in a clash of the NBA’s absolute best (right now). Then, at 10:30 p.m. ET, two Western Conference powerhouses in the Los Angeles Clippers and Houston Rockets will go toe-to-toe at Staples Center.
You can catch both of these massive matchups on Sportsnet ONE.
But beyond just how good all four of these teams are another big reason to tune and see them play is the fact that, between this quartet are four of the leading current MVP candidates, with three, alone, playing in the titanic Lakers-Bucks contest.
Here’s a closer look at these four MVP candidates, plus one more, in order of their likelihood to win the award right now.
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1) Giannis Antetokounmpo
Season stats:
31.7 PPG | 12.8 RPG | 5.3 APG | 56.4 FG% | 32.1 3P%
Giannis Antotokounmpo is the defending NBA MVP, and according to PER at least, he’s having an even better season this go around than before. Couple that with the fact the Bucks are likely running away with East and could push for 65-plus wins, it’s hard, barring injury or anything else truly catastrophic, to see him not go back-to-back.
And to say Antetokoumpo is having a better season than last year isn’t just because of a fancy stat, either. The Bucks lost key guard – and likely all-star this season – Malcolm Brogdon in free agency in the off-season, something that many thought might force them to take a step back, but instead, Milwaukee has taken another step forward and has asserted itself once again as a legitimate championship threat after disappointing in six games to the Toronto Raptors in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Antetokounmpo is at the heart of this, playing better all-around defence than the season before – meaning he’s also a threat for defensive player of the year – and sacrificing a little bit of his rebounding and play-making for before to score more, and from more varied spots on the floor as he’s increased the number of three-pointers he takes per game this season and is more efficient from outside than the season before.
There are a lot of compelling MVP cases to be made right now, but when it all comes down to it, Antetokoumpo’s is still the best as he’s got the right combination of team and individual success going for him right now.
2) LeBron James
Season stats:
25.9 PPG | 7.4 RPG | 10.6 APG | 49.8 FG% | 35.3 3P%
Remember after the very first game of the season and people were questioning whether LeBron James might finally be showing signs of being a little washed up? Yeah, well, if you consider being the No. 2 MVP candidate in the league right now washed, then congratulations!
For the rest of us sane folk, however, James remains as dominant as he’s ever been. Looking and behaving rejuvenated because of the exceptionally talented team he has around him – that also includes another MVP candidate on this list, by the way.
This is best illustrated by his league-leading 10.6 assists per game and sparkling 48.5 assist percentage, an indication that he’s enjoying giving up the ball to his teammates and is hunting for opportunities to drop the ball off to them.
And like Antetokounmpo, James isn’t just putting up gaudy individual numbers as the Lakers appear to be every bit as good as the Bucks, meaning he, too, is enjoying team and singular success. The big differentiator between the two, however, is the fact the Lakers do have another MVP candidate on their roster, something that, as unfair as it may sound, does cannibalize some of James’ MVP viability at the moment.
3) James Harden
Season stats:
38.9 PPG | 6.0 RPG | 7.4 APG | 44.3 FG% | 35.9 3P%
Spoiler alert: James Harden is going to be robbed of the MVP … again!
I hope you’re ready to hear stunning analysis of the nature you see in the line above, because they’re definitely coming.
Harden is, once again, having a phenomenal offensive season, leading the league in scoring for a third straight season at a ridiculous 38.9 points per game clip and, somehow, taking even more free throws, three-pointers and just overall field-goal attempts than ever before, he remains the epitome of quantity and quality.
Still, though, the team he has built around him came out of the gates tepidly, leading to an 18-9 Rockets club that currently finds itself in fifth place in the Western Conference.
As much as Rockets fans likely to don’t want to hear it, the MVP is still partially an awarded predicated on team success, except in remarkably rare situations. It’s probably not entirely right, but that’s still the reality, and a star player – even one who’s nearly averaging 40 a game – on a fifth-place team will be hard-pressed to win an MVP.
4) Luka Doncic
Season stats:
29.3 PPG | 9.6 RPG | 8.9 APG | 48.1 FG% | 32.6 3P%
He’s injured right now, and that’s a major bummer because, “Holy crap, is Luka Doncic good!”
Still only 20 years old and with 16 career triple-doubles already under his belt – eight alone this season so far – the future for Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks looks blindingly bright, but that doesn’t mean he should win MVP just yet.
It’s an amazing accomplishment at his age to even be considered in the top-five conversation for MVP the way he already is, but similar to Harden, his team, drastically improved over last season it may be, still isn’t good enough to take him over the top of a James or Antetokounmpo.
Like the injury he’s fighting through, that’s a bit of a bummer, but on the bright side, he’s definitely a guy who looks like he’ll be part of the MVP conversation perennially.
5) Anthony Davis
Season stats:
27.4 PPG | 9.3 RPG | 3.3 APG | 49.9 FG% | 2.6 BPG
Lastly, we have the not-so-mysterious “other” Laker MVP candidate, Anthony Davis.
The league leader in blocked shots, and the Lakers leading scorer, Davis has come every bit as advertised after forcing his way out of New Orleans and to Los Angeles last season.
But as previously mentioned with James, Davis, strong candidate he may be, still doesn’t have the greatest shot in the world to win the award because he and James sort of cancel each other out.
Additionally, Davis, as remarkable a player as he is, isn’t the Lakers’ best player, nor the true face of that franchise right now. The distinction still belongs to James, and as long as James remains in L.A. that will likely always be the case. Something that will, inevitably, always hurt his own individual MVP case.
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