Who Is the 2021 NBA MVP?

The 2021 NBA MVP will be announced soon. Here are the leading candidates and why they may take home the coveted title.

Giannis Antetokounmpo

Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks is the reigning NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP). He is a Greek professional basketball player for the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Antetokounmpo is the Bucks’ franchise player, and is currently in his seventh NBA season.

His Stats

This season, he is averaging a career-high 29.0 points per game to go along with 11.3 rebounds and 5.6 assists. He is shooting 55.3 percent from the field, 39.3 percent from three-point range and 70.9 percent from the free-throw line.

His Impact

Since he was drafted in 2013, Giannis Antetokounmpo has made a huge impact on the Milwaukee Bucks. Standing at 6’11” and weighing 242 pounds, the Greek Freak is a physical specimen. His combination of size, strength, speed, agility, and jumping ability is virtually unmatched in the NBA. He is one of the most versatile players in the league, and he has rapidly developed into one of the best players in the world.

In 2020-21, Giannis is averaging 28.2 points, 11.0 rebounds, 5.9 assists, 1.4 steals, and 1.3 blocks per game while shooting 57.9% from the field and 25.4% from three-point range. He is one of only three players in NBA history (along with Oscar Robertson and Russell Westbrook) to average at least 28 points, 11 rebounds, five assists, and one steal per game in a season. He is also on pace to become only the fifth player in NBA history (joining Robertson, Westbrook, Lebron James, and Michael Jordan) to average at least 28 points, 11 rebounds, five assists while shooting 50% or better from the field in a season.

Giannis has led the Bucks to the best record in the NBA this season (34-17). He is unquestionably their best player and their most important player. He is their leader on and off the court; he is their best player defensively; and he creates easy scoring opportunities for his teammates with his playmaking ability offensively. In other words: Giannis Antetokounmpo is an MVP caliber player who is having an MVP caliber season for an elite team that appears to be poised to make a deep run in the playoffs this year.

LeBron James

As the 2021 NBA season comes to a close, the discussion for who will be crowned league MVP is heating up. The leading candidate for the award is Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James. James has been putting up MVP-caliber numbers for years now, but this season he has been especially dominant.

His Stats

In his 17 seasons, James has been named to the All-Star team 16 times and the All-NBA team 15 times. He is the only player in NBA history to be named Finals MVP four times (2012, 2013, 2016, 2020) and is one of only four players to win regular season MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, and Finals MVP in their career. He is also one of only seven players in NBA history to win an NBA championship, an Olympic gold medal, and an NCAA championship.

His Impact

LeBron James is widely considered one of the greatest basketball players of all time. He has played in the NBA for 18 seasons, winning four MVP awards, three NBA championships, and one Olympic gold medal. In 2021, he was voted by a panel of 100 sportswriters and broadcasters as the greatest player in NBA history.

Off the court, James is an active philanthropist. He has founded the LeBron James Family Foundation, which provides support to children and families in need. He has also partnered with organizations like UNICEF and The Boys & Girls Clubs of America. In 2020, he was named Sports Illustrated’s Sportsperson of the Year for his work on and off the court.

Joel Embiid

Joel Embiid is the 2021 NBA MVP. He is a center for the Philadelphia

His Stats

Joel Hans Embiid is a Cameroonian professional basketball player for the Philadelphia
76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). After one year of college basketball with the Kansas Jayhawks, he was drafted with the third overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft by the 76ers. Although plagued by injuries early in his career, Embiid had a breakout season in 2017–18, where he was selected as an All-Star and named to the All-NBA Second Team. He has been named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team twice (2018, 2019) and has led the league in blocks per game three times (2018, 2019, 2020).

In 2019–20, Embiid helped lead the 76ers to their first Eastern Conference Finals appearance since 2001, averaging 23.0 points and 11.6 rebounds while shooting 49.3% from the field and 31.9% from three-point range. The following season, he averaged 28.5 points and 10.6 rebounds per game while shooting 50.4% from the field and 39.7% from three-point range en route to being named as one of the three finalists for MVP alongside LeBron James and Nikola Jokić; ultimately losing to James.

His Impact

Joel Hans Embiid is a Cameroonian professional basketball player for the Philadelphia
76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). After one year of college basketball with the Kansas Jayhawks, he was drafted with the third overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft by the 76ers. Embiid missed his first two professional seasons due to injury.

During his third season, Embiid helped lead the 76ers to their first playoff appearance in six years, and was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team. The following year, he was voted as an All-Star starter, becoming the first Sixers player since Allen Iverson in 2005–06 to be selected for an All-Star Game, but did not participate due to injury. In 2018–19, Embiid averaged 27.5 points per game and set career highs in games played (64), three-point field goal percentage (.367), and free throw percentage (.832). He became just the fourth player in NBA history to average at least 27 points, 11 rebounds, three assists, and one block per game in a season, joining Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Moses Malone, and Kevin Garnett.

Nikola Jokic

The 2020-21 NBA season has been one of the most competitive and unpredictable in recent memory. With so many talented players putting up big numbers, it’s been difficult to single out one player as the MVP. However, Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets has been the most consistent and dominant player throughout the season, and he deserves to be the MVP.

His Stats

In 71 regular season games, Jokic averaged a career-high 26.4 points per game to go with 10.8 rebounds and 8.3 assists, becoming just the fifth player in NBA history to average at least 25-10-8 in a season. He also joins Oscar Robertson as the only players ever to average those numbers for an entire season while shooting over 60 percent from the field.

His Impact

Nikola Jokic is one of the best players in the NBA. He is a center for the Denver Nuggets, and he is one of the main reasons why they are one of the best teams in the Western Conference. Jokic is averaging 26.4 points per game, 10.8 rebounds per game, and 8.3 assists per game. He is also shooting 56.6 percent from the field and 38.8 percent from three-point range. These are all career-highs for Jokic. Not only is he producing at a high level, but he is also doing it efficiently.

Other Candidates

Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo and Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James are the front runners for the 2021 NBA MVP award. But there are other players who are also in the running for the prestigious award.

Damian Lillard

Damian Lillard is one of the most explosive scorers in the NBA. He’s averaged over 28 points per game for his career, and he’s currently averaging 29.8 points per game this season. He’s also a great playmaker, averaging 7.8 assists per game this season. Lillard is a really good three-point shooter, shooting 39.4% from three-point range for his career. He’s also a clutch player, hitting a lot of big shots in his career. Lillard is one of the best players in the NBA, and he deserves to be in the conversation for MVP this season.

Kyrie Irving

Kyrie Irving is an American professional basketball player for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers with the first overall pick in the 2011 NBA draft. A six-time NBA All-Star, Irving was named the NBA Rookie of the Year in 2012 and has played for the United States national team, winning gold medals at the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Kawhi Leonard

Kawhi Anthony Leonard (/kəˈwaɪ/ kay-WY; born June 29, 1991) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Leonard played two seasons of college basketball for the San Diego State Aztecs, and was named a consensus second-team All-American as a sophomore. He was selected by the Indiana Pacers with the 15th overall pick in the 2011 NBA draft, but was traded to the San Antonio Spurs on draft night.

In his first season with the Spurs, Leonard was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team; he led all rookies in three-point shooting percentage, and was also named to the All-Defensive Second Team. The following season, he helped lead the Spurs to an NBA Championship, earning Finals MVP honors as he became only the third rookie in NBA history to do so. He was named to both All-Defensive Teams for a second consecutive year, becoming just one of five players ever to do so. In 2015–16, Leonard once again helped lead his team to victory in the NBA Finals; he averaged a career-high 20.5 points per game during that regular season and set an NBA Finals record for most steals in a single series.

During his time with San Antonio, Leonard became known for his quiet demeanor and positive attitude, as well as his exceptional two-way (offensive and defensive) play; he has been hailed as one of the best small forwards in contemporary basketball by many commentators and fellow players alike. In 2019–20, Leonard led the Clippers to their first ever NBA Finals appearance while being named Defensive Player of the Year for a third time; he averaged 27.1 points per game during that regular season