Newest MVP Ladder (1/6/2023): https://www.nba.com/news/kia-mvp-ladder-jan-6-2023-edition
1. Nikola Jokic
2. Jayson Tatum
3. Kevin Durant
4. Luka Doncic
5. Giannis Antetokounmpo
6. Joel Embiid
7. Ja Morant
7. Donovan Mitchell
9. Jaylen Brown
10. Zion Williamson
*Ja and Mitchell are tied for 7th.
Next five (listed alphabetically): Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, James Harden, LeBron James, Julius Randle, Domantas Sabonis.
by SophisticatedSloth
36 Comments
Jokic is really gonna 3peat
KD finally getting respect
Luka really had that crazy week where he was absolutely carrying the Mavs while dropping ridiculous stat lines to be 4th? Damn
Also no disrespect to Tatum, but Tatum hasn’t been better than KD, Jokic, Giannis and Luka. He should be 5th. Other players have been better whilst leading their team to a top 4 record in their respective conferences.
As crazy as it may sound, I think Tatum is too high. Don’t get me wrong, he deserves to be mentioned in the convo but the other top 6 candidates have clearly been better statistically (which is insane because Tatum is averaging 30). Boston has slumped lately as well so it’s not like they are absolutely dominating the East anymore. And the other 5 candidates currently have their teams top 4 in their respective conference too.
Still a long season to go though so we’ll see what happens.
It should be 1. Luka 2. Jokic 3. Durant
Really feels like it’s Luka’s to lose. He’s putting up the best stats and carrying the worst team out of all the MVP contenders. And he’s only 3.5 games back of Jokic. Jokic won MVP last year over Embiid and Giannis despite being 3 games back of them 🤷🏿♂️
Luka at 4? Tatum at 2? Giannis at 5? LMFAOOO
How is Tatum still at 2 ahead of KD? Doesnt make sense at all
How is Tatum #2
Get on out of there, Tatum
Tatum ain’t top 3 right now… It’s Jokic, KD and luka
[#2](https://imgur.io/ZjGZqKk?r)
Tatum still above Durant? The NBA makes their narratives so transparent. The MVP award has been set up for either Tatum or Luka since the start of the season and they aren’t planning on giving it to anyone else
This… This just isn’t correct.
How is Luka only #4? How is Tatum #2?
This sounds like a personal preference of the journalist instead of an accurate assessment of the current situation.
Disrespectful to the run Giannis has gone on
If Jokic wins 3 straight MVPS I’m gonna lose it
Tatum belongs nowhere near this list. If he’s top 5 JB should be nominated too.
And God damn Jayson and his team shit the bed for 5 games he holds 2nd. Giannis does it for a couple games and he will never sniff top 3 again
I think those saying Tatum is too high aren’t accounting for his defense. He’s probably the 3rd best defender on the list, but with better efficiency than Giannis and more team success and games played than both Giannis and Embiid.
Ik people on this sub have been really salty about Tatum being so high lately, and I assume they will be here as well, but let’s remember a few things.
1.) The Celtics are loaded, but KD and Giannis both won their MVPs on pretty loaded rosters. As did Curry. And Lebron for 2 of his MVPs
2.) The statistical differences between the top-level candidates aren’t as big as some people are making them out to be.
3.) Tatum is playing incredible defense this year, and that’s important as well. You could make a case for him to be 1st-team all-defense. Not saying that there aren’t other candidates playing good defense as well, but that’s also a huge factor that doesn’t show up when you compare box scores
So it only matters for Giannis when he plays bad teams? Mavericks and Nets both had a pretty easy week, and the Celtics lost by giving up 150 to the SGA-less Thunder lmao.
Would like to see Embiid win MVP just to watch this sub collapse
How is Steph Curry not even in the top ten????
Luka just had one of the best stat lines in NBA history, and he can’t even crack the top 3 in these weekly rankings?
Why is JT still at number 2? Lol
where’s draymond on this list??!
Tatum shouldn’t even be in the top 3
Does jaylen have a shot at being an as starter?
I get why people are saying Tatum shouldn’t be 2 on this list, because of the slump the teams been in, but that slump was because their bench couldn’t hit a shot, and teams were shooting ridiculous percentages on them. He just put up a triple double on Lukas head and beat them by 29 in their own building.
The Celtics still have the best record in the league and Tatum is also 3rd in total plus minus averaging roughly 31/8/4 with 2 stocks and is one of the best two way wing defenders in the league.
Edit: this is also a season award. Y’all just going to forget about the first 20 or so games when the Celtics were on fire??
KD deserves that 2
People don’t seem to realize how much voters value standings for MVP
Jokic and Tatum are both #1 seeds and KD is on a heater and tied for a #2 seed. If Denver falls and the Mavs go on a win streak I bet Luka moves up and Jokic falls
So far I think it should go to Luka. It feels right.
Jokic is absolutely cracked, but idk if I’d give it to him a 3rd time in a row. I don’t think you should give MVPs based on previous wins or anything but it would feel a little strange for him to win 3 straight
Damn, last years narrative: Jokic has no help he does it all himself, therefore he has to be the mvp. Giannis has the better teammates, we can’t give him the award even if his team has the better record
This years narrative: Giannis has no help but jokic has had both porter jr and Murray along with the addition brown and the all star caliber play of Aaron Gordon. Giannis is in fifth while jokic is first.
So what I’ve gathered is that people hate Giannis and don’t appreciate or give him credit his impact
The top 6 are legitimately insane… and Curry would be right in there too if healthy
If KD gets it this year that works be a travesty. Harden lost it in 2019 for a 7 game stretch at the beginning of the season which was very similar to KD’s. Not to say KD doesn’t deserve to be number 2 he just shouldn’t win it
Even as a Celtics fan I’ll admit that I think that KD should be at least #2 on this list