MVP

[Porckchop]

After big games by Lebron ,Jokic and Tatum this weekend it got me thinking about MVP.

1. Jokic
2. Embiid
3. Luka
4. Giannis
5. Morant
6. Curry
7. Derozan
8. Tatum
9. Towns
10. Mitchell

Let's see your 10 fellas. Anyone have Lebron on their list?

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

1. Nikola Jokic
2. Giannis Antetokounmpo
3. Joel Embiid
4. Steph Curry
5. Tyus Jo-- I mean, Ja Morant
6. Luka Doncic
7. Chris Paul
8. DeMar DeRozan
9. Jayson Tatum
10. Jimmy Butler

[KiwiMatt]

1. Nikola Jokic
2. Joel Embiid
3. Giannis Antetokounmpo
4. Ja Morant
5. Luka Doncic
6. Steph Curry
7. Demar DeRozan
8. Chris Paul
9. Donovan Mitchell
10. Jayson Tatum
11. Karl Anthony Towns

[thedoper]

I know individual stats matter in this but I can't get over what Chris Paul has done for the Suns. Suns have gone from barely a playoff team to tops in the league. Id vote him first. Remember when his contract was untradeable and people here thought we shouldn't trade for him because he didn't fit our window?

[Porckchop]

I know individual stats matter in this but I can't get over what Chris Paul has done for the Suns. Suns have gone from barely a playoff team to tops in the league. Id vote him first. Remember when his contract was untradeable and people here thought we shouldn't trade for him because he didn't fit our window?

I left him off completely simply because he'll have missed 25 games and the Suns haven't seemed to miss a beat. Also he seems to be a bit of an asshole. Lol

[Lipoli390]

1. Nikola Jokic
2. Giannis Antetokounmpo
3. Joel Embiid
4. Steph Curry
5. Tyus Jo-- I mean, Ja Morant
6. Luka Doncic
7. Chris Paul
8. DeMar DeRozan
9. Jayson Tatum
10. Jimmy Butler

I decided to respond to your list, Cam, because it's the only one with Jimmy Butler. It's also the only one without Towns.

As I reflect, I have to agree with you on including Butler. Miami has the best record in the East and they've achieve that even though they have no other stars on that team and were without Bam for a pretty long stretch this season. I don't like Butler and I think his antics at the end of his time here were asinine. But like you, I can't see leaving him off a top 10 list of MVP candidates.

At the same time, I can't see leaving Towns off the list. He gets a lot of criticism from some among the Wolves fan base. Some of it is deserved. But the Wolves are 7 games over .500 and likely to secure a playoff spot for only the second time since 2004. He's been by far the Wolves most consistent performer. In fact, he's been amazingly consistent all season in comparison to just about any other player in the League. DeRozan has been terrific and probably the main reason for the Bulls' surprising success this season. And there's no doubt that Chris Paul has a big reason for the Suns' success. But his 15 points per game, even with his 10.7 assists, doesn't put him above Towns in my view - especially when you consider the teammates Chris Paul has around him, including Devin Booker who is averaging 25 points per game. So my list would not including Chris Paul. It would be same as yours except for the last four, which I'll list here:

7. Jayson Tatum
8. Jimmy Butler
9. DeMar DeRozan
10. Karl Anthony Towns

[AbeVigodaLive]

Thinking of MVP made me think of a fantasy draft. There seems to be definite tiers this season. And I only see 7 with any legit MVP cases (at least in getting top 5 votes). After that, it gets really fuzzy.

As for our hometown heroes... Towns is firmly in that group after the top 7. And if they finish the season well, he could easily land at #8.

Jokic
Embiid
Giannis (no real shot right now. But he's so damn consistent)
_____
Morant (Cam stole my joke)
Luka (making late charge, but I'm holding his out-of-shape start against him)
DeRozan
Curry (a down year statistically)
______
Towns (Similar stats to other years... but better teammates.)
Gobert/Mitchell (who's more important to that team?)
Tatum (barely. He's responsible in a big way for the team's slow start. 44/33 shooting splits.)
______
Durant (games) although he's so good anything close to 55 games should still get him close to top 10
Paul (games) as noted, he's finishing with only 58 games
James (by default. always gets his stats)
Butler (but his team has similar record in 20 games without him)

[Monster]

I'm enjoying reading the thoughts on this.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

All fair thoughts, Lip. I just have to give credit to the best player on the best team in the Western Conference. Chris Paul has been masterful this year. The fact that he shares the backcourt with Devin Booker and has missed a number of games holds him down on my list, but I still think he's deserving of being there.

[Q-is-here]

Thinking of MVP made me think of a fantasy draft. There seems to be definite tiers this season. And I only see 7 with any legit MVP cases (at least in getting top 5 votes). After that, it gets really fuzzy.

As for our hometown heroes... Towns is firmly in that group after the top 7. And if they finish the season well, he could easily land at #8.

Jokic
Embiid
Giannis (no real shot right now. But he's so damn consistent)
_____
Morant (Cam stole my joke)
Luka (making late charge, but I'm holding his out-of-shape start against him)
DeRozan
Curry (a down year statistically)
______
Towns (Similar stats to other years... but better teammates.)
Gobert/Mitchell (who's more important to that team?)
Tatum (barely. He's responsible in a big way for the team's slow start. 44/33 shooting splits.)
______
Durant (games) although he's so good anything close to 55 games should still get him close to top 10
Paul (games) as noted, he's finishing with only 58 games
James (by default. always gets his stats)
Butler (but his team has similar record in 20 games without him)

This is a good list. Jokic is unquestionably the MVP in my opinion.

Your parenthetical comment on KAT resonates. He has been remarkably consistent from his 2nd year on. I mean, it's almost hard to distinguish when his best season was individually. On the one hand, he was basically a great player from the get-go. On the other hand, he never became a superstar (like Jokic and Embiid).

He's changed up the way he gets his points over the years, but it all ends up being about the same volume and efficiency level. And defensively he finally was put into a system and given team mates that at least got the team to average.