Who Are the Favorites to Win the NBA MVP Award?

The NBA MVP Award is given to the most Valuable Player of the regular season This year’s finalists are ____________. Who do you think will take home the hardware?

Kyrie Irving

Kyrie Irving of the Boston Celtics is one of the favorites to win the NBA MVP award. Kyrie is averaging 24.4 points, 5.1 assists, and 3.9 rebounds per game He is shooting 49.1% from the field and 39.3% from three-point range Kyrie has helped lead the Celtics to the best record in the Eastern Conference He is a candidate for MVP because he is one of the best players on the best team in his conference.

Russell Westbrook

Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder is one of the favorites to win the NBA MVP Award this season. He is averaging a triple-double of 31.6 points, 10.7 rebounds, and 10.4 assists per game He has also been named the Western Conference Player of the Month three times this season.

James Harden

Houston Rockets shooting guard James Harden is one of the favorites to win the NBA’s Most Valuable Player Award Harden is averaging an NBA-best 30.6 points per game and he’s also among the league leaders in assists (9.2) and steals (1.8). He’s helped lead the Rockets to a 38-16 record, which is the third-best mark in the Western Conference

LeBron James

Lebron James is widely considered to be one of the favorites to win the NBA MVP this year. The 34-year-old forward has been in excellent form for the Los Angeles Lakers, averaging 27.3 points, 8.3 assists and 7.1 rebounds per game James is also shooting a career-high 52.8 percent from the field. If he can maintain this level of play, he will be a strong candidate for MVP honors.

Kawhi Leonard

Kawhi Leonard of the Los Angeles Clippers is one of the favorites to win the 2020 NBA MVP award Leonard is averaging 27.1 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 5.1 assists per game this season. Leonard has been named NBA MVP twice before, in 2016 and 2014.

Kevin Durant

No one player has been as unanimously anointed the best in the game as Kevin Durant is right now. The Oklahoma City star has won the MVP award four times in the last five years, and there’s a strong case to be made that he should be a unanimous choice again this season. Durant is averaging a career-high 28.2 points per game to go along with 8.4 rebounds and 5.0 assists, leading the Thunder to the best record in the Western Conference He’s also shooting a career-best 53 percent from the field and 39 percent from three-point range. In other words, Durant is pretty much doing it all for Oklahoma City and he’s clearly the favorite to win MVP once again.

Anthony Davis

The Los Angeles Lakers have been on a tear this season, and a big reason for that has been the play of Anthony Davis Davis is averaging 27.7 points, 9.4 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game and is shooting 50.8 percent from the field and 33.4 percent from three-point range. He has also been a force on defense, averaging 2.3 blocks per game.

Giannis Antetokounmpo

Giannis Antetokounmpo is the favorite to win the NBA MVP Award The Bucks forward is averaging 29.5 points, 13.7 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 1.3 blocks per game while shooting 54.8 percent from the field and 33 percent from three-point range. He’s also leading the Bucks to the best record in the NBA at 53-12.

Joel Embiid

Joel Embiid is one of the favorites to win the NBA MVP award. The Sixers center is averaging 29.3 points, 11.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 1.9 blocks per game while shooting 49.8 percent from the field and 31.6 percent from three-point range. Embiid has been the best player on a Sixers team that has the best record in the Eastern Conference at 42-21.

Damian Lillard

As the season enters its final stretch, the favorites to win the NBA MVP award have emerged. The leading candidate is Houston Rockets guard James Harden who is putting up video-game numbers. However, he is being pushed by a number of other players, including Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook and Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard

Of those four players, Lillard may have the most impressive individual résumé. He is averaging 27.3 points and 7.9 assists per game while shooting 44 percent from 3-point range. He has also been extremely durable, appearing in all 64 of the Trail Blazers’ games.

What sets Lillard apart is his value to his team. The Trail Blazers would be lost without him; they are 31-13 when he plays and just 12-18 when he doesn’t. His absence was particularly glaring during a recent five-game losing streak

Lillard also has the advantage of playing in a big market (Portland) for a team that is contending for a playoff spot. That will resonate with voters, as will his reputation as a clutch performer. He has hit a number of game-winning shots this season, including an improbable buzzer-beater against the Philadelphia 76ers.

The MVP Award is often given to the best player on the best team, which would point to either Harden or Antetokounmpo. But Lillard has put up comparable numbers to those two players while shouldering a much bigger load for his team. He deserves serious consideration for the award.