MVP Rankings: Steph Curry RISING, LeBron James OFF list, Embiid or Giannis #1? | Hoops Tonight
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So you guys don’t miss any of our content over the course of this season all right let’s talk some basketball all right moving on to the MVP lad so for those of you guys who missed it last week we had Joel embiid at number one Yannis s tenak kmo at number two Tyrese
Halberton at number three Shay gild Alexander at number four Luca donic at number five Nicole yic at number six dearen Fox at number seven Jason Tatum at number eight LeBron James at number nine and Kevin Durant at number 10 and like I said I’m going to be doing this
Every Friday primarily go we’re not going to do deep dives into every single player but we’re going to do mainly just descriptions of why I have made changes to the rankings so two guys are dropping out of the list this week first is LeBron he averaged 24 n rebounds and 11
Assists this week but they went 0 and three in the three games at LeBron played he’s still been pretty good on offense although his jumper cooled off but my main issue with LeBron right now is just outside of the inseason tournament he just hasn’t given a about playing any defense and we’ve
Talked a lot about this but that low man responsibility is vitally important uh in any NBA defense but it’s especially important in this Laker defense that’s doing so much blitzing and pick and roll and you just need a guy there that’s really really active that’s trying to
Make plays and we’ve SE we’ve seen what it looks like when you know when like Tyrese halberton didn’t have a single turnover during in season tournament until suddenly LeBron blows up a play as a low man in pick and roll like he is capable of being so devastating there
Totally understand for the record like he’s old got to find a way to conserve energy somewhere LeBron’s conserving energy on defense right now I don’t think he sees the regular season as that important totally fine but the purpose of this list is to draw attention to players who are playing well within the
Confines of the regular season so as of right now I’m dropping LeBron off the list uh Kevin Durant is the other guy I’m dropping off his numbers are still super good 32 points four rebounds five assists still super efficient but the suns are in a free fall they can’t score
The basketball they’ve lost seven of their last 10 games they’ve been a bottom five offense in that span and the biggest issues that I’m noticing are one they’re running a ton of isos without being efficient with them they run the eighth most isos in the league except
For everyone else above them is like right around a point per possession or more and the suns are down at 0.90 points per ISO so they’re running a lot of isos and they’re not getting anything out of them relative to the rest of the league they’re also not generating
Enough threes they’re only generating 29 threes per game over this 10 game stretch which is dead last in the NBA and they never get out in transition they get just 17 transition possessions per game which ranks 28th in the NBA so for right now based on team success
Dropping Kevin Durant off the list all right this week’s MVP rankings for Hoops tonight number 10 Jason Tatum he averaged 237 and five last week his scoring consistency has taken a hit he averaged excuse me he scored 30 plus five times in his first six games but
He’s done it just five times total in the last 20 games and I was really disappointed in his inability to regain control of that Warriors game as things were going down the stretch I know his ankle was tweaked early in the game but I thought he had advantages and I didn’t
Think he exploited them as well as he could have number nine Jaylen Brunson our first newcomer on the list this season last 10 games Jaylen Brunson 27 points five rebounds and seven assists 49% from the field and 44% from three and the Knicks are now a top 10 offense
They are 16 and 11 and they have the ninth best record in basketball Jaylen is hooping his ass off he’s at number nine in our MVP rankings number eight Tyrese halberton drops all the way down I think he had I think he was in third last week uh 16 points three rebounds
And 12 assists really cooled off shooting the basketball everywhere really right now 37% from the field he’s in the the 20s from three Pacers went one and four just like the Lakers the Pacers have completely Fallen apart since the inseason tournament a clear indicator that there’s a real like
Emotional let down after playing those super high stakes games and then going into regular season basketball there number seven another newcomer this week Steph Curry after uh straight up stealing the Celtics game with late game shot making the Warriors are now 13 and 12 when Steph Curry plays despite a just
A just a ridiculous ous amount of issues between main core players not playing well between Draymond Green removing himself from the team with poor decisionmaking to uh a lot of young guys in the lineup there’s just to there’s just a boatload of things going wrong with this team and yet they’ve still
Been above 500 in a really difficult league on a really tough schedule because Steph Curry is the same old Steph Curry 28 points per game on 65% true shooting he’s just floating things well enough for the Warriors to be able to sur survive until they can make a move to upgrade the
Roster number six Luca donic 35 11-9 in the last week but the Mavs went 1- two so I dropped him down a little bit dearen Fox 30 at number five dearen Fox 30 points four rebounds five assists per game in the last week and the Kings went
Two and one uh moved him up to number five number four nicoa yic 21 10 and8 in the last week and the Nuggets went two- one with that one loss being the buzzer lost to the Thunder the Toronto win the other night felt like a Get Right game
For nicoa yic he went cold from three there for a little while remember I was complaining about that and I was specifically complaining about him not taking them anymore which was frustrating three for five against Toronto I just think that that’s a very very important shot for for joic to be
Considered the best player in the world it’s all of the things put together that that makes like without that three-point shot he goes from being the most inevitable Unstoppable offensive player in the league to something less than that and it’s it’s just an important element I thought that was encouraging
Against Toronto he had 31 points as well Nicole joic up to number four number three Shay gilders Alexander 29 Points eight rebounds and six assists last week the Thunder went 3 and 0 hits the game winner against Denver hangs 31 on the red hot Clippers uh that have been so
Good defensively lately just a great week for Shay gildas Alexander I have him up at number three number two Giannis uh there was a weird game in there where he didn’t play much that threw off his averages but he still averaged 24 12 eight over the course of
The last week the Bucks went 4-0 so I moved him up to number two actually I think he was at number two last week and the number one Joel embiid 42 points 14 rebounds and four assists in the last week the Sixers go three and one lost to
The Bulls but the Bulls are playing really well and they had just played a b the Sixers had just played a bunch of bad teams which typically can kind of Set uh Set uh set your team up for some failure because he you built some bad habits playing against Bad teams right
Uh here’s the thing for the Sixers fans and embiid fans cuz I had a lot of them complaining at me in the last 24 hours after our video yesterday do I hate the foul grifting yeah I I despise it it’s it’s but I don’t blame Joel for
That I blame the league and he’s still been by far the best regular season player in the league this year I’ve had him number one in my MVP list both weeks I’m a huge believer in what embiid is capable of everything about his foul grifting is is a take about the NBA it
Has nothing to do with Joe embiid He
Jason Timpf shares his Top 10 MVP Rankings prior to the NBA’s Christmas Day games. Jason discusses why LeBron James and Kevin Durant have fallen off the list, how far Steph Curry has risen, and who No. 1 is between Giannis Antetokounmpo and Joel Embiid.
Watch the full episode here: https://youtu.be/mUyCG4LJpPs
Timeline:
00:00 – Introduction
00:50 – LeBron & Kevin Durant off the list
02:51 – #10: Jayson Tatum
03:22 – #9: Jalen Brunson
03:47 – #8: Tyrese Haliburton
04:15 – #7: Steph Curry
05:03 – #6: Luka Doncic
05:09 – #5: De’Aaron Fox
05:20 – #4: Nikola Jokic
06:06 – #3: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
06:22 – #2: Giannis Antetokounmpo
06:36 – #1: Joel Embiid
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#nba #lebronjames #kevindurant #lebron #jaysontatum #jalenbrunson #tyresehaliburton #stephencurry #stephcurry #
37 Comments
Dude spends more time talking about why lebron isn’t on the list than over half the other players
Dude your list is trash luka at #6?? No one has had a bigger impact on there team besides joel embiid despite all the mavs injuries
No Kwhaii LEONARD?!! Your clipper hate is real. Jalen Brunson got beat downnnn by clips and Leonard had an impressive game against Luka. Oh and don’t forget the. Pacer game. 3 if your MVP’s got a Kwahii Leonard beat down and he still gets no love. Look at his numbers on both ends! You’re love for lakers make you so biased against the clippers
How can Podziemski not be on the list? He’s obviously the goat
So is this the MVP of the last week, or of the whole season so far?
We all know it's about Embiid cause this is not the 1st or 2nd or 3rd or even 4th time you've talked about it. It's only in your last video that you've started saying your beef is with the nba. Embiid is not the only one to foul bait, he's just the only one you can't stand watching. Crying about this all the time like anything will change is actually funny. Foul baiting will never be banned because attacking will never be banned. Attscking increases your chances of getting fouled. most of the time the refs can't even tell unless they rewatch it. Common sense. Then the games will be even longer.
No reason to drop Luka for team losses. Everyone is hurt and he’s carrying the team (almost beat the clippers!).
Lebron the GOAT
I’m gonna assume this video was recorded before brons 40 piece last nite and he played pretty good defense too. Love the content sincerely a loyal subscribe
Love that the NBA is finally addressing foul grifting, but in the Dubs win against Portland last night, Steph got called for flopping when he wasn’t trying to draw a foul call, it was just part of his normal motion after making a basket. Now the problem is going to be over reacting from the refs…
Don't know how curry wasn't on your list before this week. Hard carrying the warriors, making his teammates better. Willing them to win. Theyre plus .500 even with their issues and their strength is schedule. Everyone brings it when the warriors come to town. Doesn't matter their record. They're still being gunned for and still positive.
"Draymond Green removing himself from the team with POOR DECISION MAKING?" Irresponsible violence against other players!
Luka not being top 2 is blasphemous you aren’t watching the mavs, it’s abysmal the difference between the mavs with and without Luka
Would get more subscribers if you asked after you show your content instead of shoving it down peoples faces before you even show anything. Great content btw!
Best player on best team is number 10.
Feel like Ant needs to be in here given how good the wolves have been.
Luka getting downgraded because of a Mavs loss he didn't even play in. Jesus Christ.
This guy clearly don’t like Luka😭 Remember at the start seasons he said he’s the 9th best player in the nba
I am not a Clipper fan but are people punishing Kawhi for the games he missed over the last couple of years? He is playing great and was definitely a catalyst for the Clippers hot streak.
No need to explain why you dropped labron off the list when you've played this long the media goes on name recognition the player's want a body regardless if he has a AARP MEMBERSHIP come and get you some of this POPS
Jason why is not shooting 3s being held against Joker and not against Giannis?
Jason?? Mailbag question? Why do you continue to show no love to the Wolves?? Only time you talked about the wolves is when Embid beat them. They are 5-2
In their tough stretch, best defense after ⅓ of the season…so my question….are you so butt hurt that you predicted preseason they’d be 15th yet they are 1-2 through the season?
Respected basketball mind, but your Timberwolves disrespect has to be called out.
dude…. you just look at standings and stats and tell us your list? seriously? that’s a casuals take.
This dude says Luka went 35/11/9 last week.. and that wasn’t even good enough to hold his 5th spot from last week that was already ridiculously to low. AND Luka avg 35/11/9 with half the rotation injured. I’m literally watching him with 2-way guys, rookies, and end of the bench players and still killin team. Now he’s 6th? That’s just disrespectful
I love how everyone is acting like Klay is doing nothing. The last 14 games ,10 of them, Klay has scored 20+ pts. Like last night, he dropped 28pts, 11-16 from the FG, and 6-10 from 3. That doesn't sound Curry is by himself
Having Fox over Luka is insane. Everyone else above him I can understand, but Luka has been better than Fox this year and has been more important for his team. Totally disagree with that ranking.
40 7 7
Jason this Luka hate is scary ngl his team is ok at best
Kawhi didn’t crack your top 10?
Interesting..
Just like the eagles..people can’t stop something so now they want to change the rules of the game 😂
Luka being 6th is idiotic. Half his team in freaking injured yet your downgrading him for loses he even hasn't played in.
Luka being at 6th portrays you as someone who doesn't watch basketball. Half his team injured, playing with rookies and 2 way guys being double and triple teamed every possession, playing 44 minutes a game averaging 35 11 9 and you drop him. My god, if this isn't even enough for top 5 what the hell is he supposed to do to win it. Every other guy on this list has his team fully healthy not to mention even if the mavs were fully healthy Luka still hasn't got a better team that the top 10 guys have.
this guy is all talk and no substance
Brunson and Curry over Ant?
So Lebron drops 40 and averaging damm near 28 but not on the list 🤔
Do the Warriors play better without Draymond Green? As they did in the first week of the season and now.
This list is HORRID. Over the past two decades, especially with the prolific rise of super teams and how accepting & palatable they have become across the board from the league, media and it’s fans. We are at the precipice of a paradigm, and an unfortunate one at that. This list that Jason has constructed here is Exhibit A to the death in competitive NBA basketball. I’m sorry Jason, I gotta roast you, cus this list is atrocious and you need to get checked.
There are already major issues with the narratives builds and internal politics of sports news coverage & reporting from the traditional media outlets like ESPN and their subsidiaries. So us true fans and basketball heads have been seeking out new spaces to congregate, discuss, and learn about the sport. While a few others have ventured into creating their own productions/platforms to create those new spaces. You my dear friend, are the latter, correct me if I’m wrong.
Whether you’re aware of it or not, guys/outlets like yourself along with the major media platforms are teaching and training new fans, viewers, players, coaches, agents, etc how to understand and view the sport. YOU HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO PRESERVE THE INTEGRITY OF THE SPORT.
This list is very LAZY. And the reason why I’m disgusted is because I know you watch the games. So how you came to put this list together tells me you’re listening to too much ESPN or something, as opposed to trusting your eyes. And it also seems as if you’re choosing players with the craziest stat lines, as opposed to really breaking down the statistics and its impact to game play.
The MVP is an impact award. It is NOT a stat award. It’s not an award like the scoring, assist, rebound and/or block titles. The acronym stands for MOST VALUABLE PLAYER. Keyword: MOST. Meaning that players impact on the overall performance of their team is leaps and bounds beyond the rest. Again meaning, if said player and their output were no longer available for their team, would the team’s performance drop, dramatically? This is how we should be assessing and speaking on the performance of an MVP candidate throughout the year. Stats inform the award, but should NOT be the driver towards awarding it. This lack of understanding among other things has been slowly but surely quietly skewing the dialogue around the sport for years.
Like how can I take your list seriously when a guy like Anthony Edwards, who has lead his team thus far to a tie for the winningest record in the league (tied w/Boston) is nowhere near to be found on it? They were a play-in team last year!!! And now thus far are leading the conference and can potentially be leading the entire league after tomorrow.
Like how can I take your list seriously when you have Giannis @ #2 and he’s playing with Damian Lillard, an NBA Top 75 player? Damian’s very presence on the team diminishes the value of Giannis. I’m not saying Giannis isn’t having an MVP caliber szn. What I’m saying is, if Giannis were to sit out or get injured having to miss games. We could all suppose that with Damian leading, the team’s record would not go off a cliff.
Like seriously I’m asking for you and guys like yourselves, that have taken on the mantle to be the figures that represent a new generation of sports analysis and news coverage to do BETTER. We have to get back to awarding the real WORK. And to do that we have to start lifting the players and teams that are doing just that; WORK. Not superteams. Not players load managing and letting their team mates carry to then swoop in when the cameras are at their brightest. Not players putting up crazy stat lines to the detriment of the production of the other players on their team and so forth.
With all that being said, based off of availability, eye-test, impact, schedule difficulty, stats & team standings this is what the MVP race is looking like currently for me as of Dec 24, 2024:
1. Joel Embiid
2. Shai Gilgeous Alexander
3. Anthony Edwards
4. Luka Doncic
5. De’aron Fox
6. Nikola Jokic
7. Stephen Curry
8. Kawhi Leonard
9. Giannis Antetokounmpo
10. Tyrese Haliburton
Boston is a team with playoff pedigree, a champion in Jrue Holiday, with great coaching in Joe Mazulla in a weak conference. They’re movement in the standings would not be dramatically impacted by Tatum’s absence. Sorry, but not sorry. He does not make the cut.
The last 3 on the list are all strong performers for MVP if we’re exclusively looking at their stats. But this is why they’re weak MVP candidates as of today:
Kawhi is a certified top 5 player in the league when he’s playing. And we all know Kawhi takes it up to another level come post-season. With all that being said, lets call a spade a spade. Kawhi is playing alongside 2 other NBA Top 75 mates in Hardin & Westbrook, an all-time 2-way great in Paul George and being coached the champion Ty Lue. If he were not playing (i.e. similar to what we’ve seen from him the previous years) the Clippers would still be in solid standing to make the playoffs and still have great odds at becoming champions. So once again, how could he or any others similar to him in that type of scenario ever be considered MOST VALUABLE? It would go against the very definition and purpose for the award.
Now Giannis, what can I say about the Big Greek Freak that we all don’t already know. He is HIM! BUT….the Bucks is a team comprised of championship and playoff pedigree, with an NBA top 75 at the PG in Damian Lillard that they brought on this past off-season. They are competing in a weak conference. My argument against him is similar to that of what I stated for Kawhi when speaking on MOST VALUABLE. The Bucks movement in the standings would not be dramatically impacted by Giannis’ absence. Sorry, but not sorry. He does not make the cut.
Finally, we have Haliburton. Though he’s had a strong start to the season putting up 25pts 12ast 4reb on shooting splits of 50/41/86 with 60% eFG and having made it to the first IST Finals in epic fashion after defeating the Bucks. Him and his team have been on a nasty losing streak since the tournament and are currently sitting at 8th seat in the east. And as we all know the Eastern conference is weak. He’s not a serious contender for the MVP. Great year thus far, he’s made it onto the international radar. But that kid has benches to press. Hopefully see you in contention next year. (I like this kid a lot).