When Will the NBA Announce MVP?

Find out when the NBA plans to announce this year’s MVP and what the leading candidates are for the award.

Introduction

The NBA Most Valuable Player Award is given to the best performing player of the regular season. The winner is selected by a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada, each of whom casts a vote for first to fifth place selections. The player with the highest point total, regardless of position, wins the award.

Since its inception, the award has been given to 44 different players. The first recipient was Boston Celtic Bob Cousy in the 1956-57 season. Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell have both won the MVP award four times during their careers. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has won a record six MVP awards. LeBron James is the most recent recipient, winning his fourth MVP award in 2012-13 season.

The announcement is usually made at the end of April or early May, but no official date has been announced for this year’s award. Stay tuned for updates!

The Case for Giannis Antetokounmpo

Giannis Antetokounmpo is in the midst of one of the most dominant seasons in recent memory, and there is a strong case to be made that he should be crowned MVP.

The Greek Freak is averaging 29.6 points, 13.7 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 1.3 blocks per game while shooting 58 percent from the field and 30 percent from three-point range. Those are astounding numbers, and they have helped the Bucks to the best record in the NBA at 54-12.

There are other excellent candidates for MVP, such as James Harden of the Houston Rockets and Paul George of the Oklahoma City Thunder. But Antetokounmpo has been the best player on the best team in the league, and that should give him a significant edge in this race.

The Case for LeBron James

It’s no secret that LeBron James is in the running for MVP this season. The Los Angeles Lakers star is averaging 25.7 points, 7.9 rebounds and a career-high 10.6 assists per game, leading the Lakers to the best record in the Western Conference. James’ main competition for the award is Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, who is averaging 29.6 points and 13.7 rebounds per game.

While Antetokounmpo has put up gaudier numbers this season, many NBA observers believe that James should be the league’s MVP for the 2019-20 campaign. Here are three reasons why:

1) James has been more consistent than Antetokounmpo throughout the season. The Greek Freak has had a few slip-ups during Milwaukee’s regular-season schedule, including a six-game stretch in December where he averaged 22.7 points per game— well below his season average. James, on the other hand, has only had two stretches all season where he’s scored less than 20 points in a game— and both of those came at the beginning of the year when he was still getting acclimated to playing with his new Lakers teammates.

2) While Antetokounmpo has received plenty of help from his fellow Bucks, James has had to carry a heavier load for Los Angeles. Khris Middleton is the only other Milwaukee player averaging more than 20 points per game, while four different Lakers are scoring at least that many points nightly (Anthony Davis, Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Danny Green). What’s more, starting point guard Rajon Rondo missed 19 games due to injury and All-Star forward Davis missed nine contests with various injuries throughout the year. Despite all of those absences, James still led Los Angeles to the best record in the West.

3) Enjoying homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs is crucial in today’s NBA— and James gives the Lakers a better chance of having that advantage than Antetokounmpo does for Milwaukee. That’s because Los Angeles (49-14) currently owns a better record than any team in either conference, while Milwaukee (46-17) is just third best in the East behind Toronto (47-18) and Boston (43-21). If things stay as they are right now, James would have an easier path to the Finals than Antetokounmpo would— which could ultimately swing MVP voters in his favor when it comes time to cast their ballots.

The Case for Kawhi Leonard

Kawhi Leonard is having one of the best seasons in recent memory. He’s averaging 27.5 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 3 assists per game on a staggering 60.6% shooting from the field and 45.0% from three. He’s also second in the league in steals per game (2.2) and is a candidate for Defensive Player of the Year. The San Antonio Spurs have the best record in the NBA (61-14), and they’ve been even better with Leonard on the court (plus-11.8 net rating).

The Case for Joel Embiid

As the NBA regular season comes to a close, all eyes are on the MVP race. Joel Embiid, of the Philadelphia 76ers, is one of the frontrunners for the award, and he has a strong case for why he deserves to win it.

Embiid is averaging 28.5 points per game, which is second in the NBA behind only Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets. He is also averaging 11.0 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game. Embiid has been one of the best players in the league all season long, and he has been a big reason why the Sixers have been one of the best teams in the NBA.

The Sixers have a record of 49-23, which is good for first place in the Eastern Conference. They are also currently on a six-game winning streak. Embiid has been a big part of their success, and he should be rewarded with an MVP trophy at the end of the season.

The Case for Nikola Jokic

The NBA will announce its MVP on Tuesday, and the leading candidate is Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets. Jokic is a 7-foot center who is averaging 26.4 points, 10.8 rebounds and 8.3 assists per game. He is also shooting 56 percent from the field and 36 percent from three-point range.

The Case for James Harden

James Harden is having an historic season. The Houston Rockets guard is averaging a league-leading 36.4 points per game to go along with 7.4 assists and 6.4 rebounds. He’s also shooting a career-high 36.6 percent from three-point range and 85.7 percent from the free throw line. Harden is on pace to become the first player in NBA history to average at least 35 points, seven assists and six rebounds while shooting over 35 percent from three-point range and 85 percent from the free throw line.

The Case for Damian Lillard

The Portland Trail Blazers have been one of the biggest surprises in the NBA this season. After losing several key players in the offseason, many pundits wrote them off as lottery-bound. But behind the strong play of Damian Lillard, they’ve not only stayed in the playoff hunt, but also have a chance to earn a top-four seed in the Western Conference.

Lillard is averaging 28.9 points, 7.8 assists and 4.3 rebounds per game, all career-highs. He’s also shooting a career-best 46.9 percent from three-point range. He’s been even better since the All-Star break, averaging 32.7 points and 8.0 assists while leading the Blazers to a 16-6 record.

Given his individual stats and the team’s success, Lillard has emerged as one of the leading candidates for MVP. He’s currently fifth in ESPN’s MVP voting tracker, behind only Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, LeBron James and Kawhi Leonard.

So when will the NBA announce MVP? The award is typically announced during the final week of the regular season. But with the regular season ending on April 10 this year and the playoffs set to begin on April 14, there’s a chance that the award could be announced before the postseason starts.

The Case for Anthony Davis

Now that the regular season is over, all eyes are on the NBA MVP race.

One of the leading contenders is Anthony Davis of the Los Angeles Lakers. Davis had a sensational season, averaging 27.7 points, 9.7 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game. He was also named to the All-NBA First Team for the fourth time in his career.

The other main contenders for MVP are Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo and Houston Rockets guard James Harden.

Antetokounmpo averaged 29.5 points, 13.6 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game, while Harden put up 36.1 points, 7.5 assists and 6.6 rebounds per game.

The MVP will be announced at the NBA Awards show on June 25th.

The Case for Other Candidates

While Giannis Antetokounmpo and LeBron James appear to be the frontrunners for the MVP award, there are a few other players who could make a case for themselves.

Damian Lillard is having an incredible season, averaging 28.8 points and 7.5 assists per game while leading the Portland Trail Blazers to the number four seed in the Western Conference. James Harden is also in the running, averaging an eye-popping 36.1 points per game while leading the Houston Rockets to the number two seed in the West.

Kyrie Irving is having a career year with the Boston Celtics, averaging 23.8 points and 6.9 assists per game while helping them to the number three seed in the East. Rudy Gobert is anchoring one of the best defenses in the league and has been a big part of the Utah Jazz’s success this season; they currently sit at number five in the West.

Finally, Joel Embiid has been dominating for the Philadelphia 76ers throughout this season, putting up 27.5 points and 13.6 rebounds per game en route to their current position as the number three seed in the East. His play has been crucial for them and he definitely deserves consideration for MVP.

It will be interesting to see who takes home MVP honors this season; it’s shaping up to be one of the closest races in recent memory.

Conclusion

The NBA will announce the MVP for the 2020-21 season on Tuesday, June 22, during the NBA Awards Show. The show will air at 8 p.m. ET on TNT.