With Joel Embiid no longer eligible for this season’s MVP award due to the number of games he has missed, the race appears wide open, according to Tim Bontemps of ESPN, who conducted another version of his straw poll ahead of the All-Star break.
The 100 media members polled over the weekend by MacMahon selected Nuggets center Nikola Jokic as the current MVP favorite, with Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as the runner-up. Jokic earned 69 first-place votes and was the only player selected by all 100 voters on their five-player ballots, while Gilgeous-Alexander was listed on 99 ballots and was the top choice on 24 of them.
Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, Mavericks guard Luka Doncic, and Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard rounded out the top five in Bontemps’ latest poll, with Celtics forward Jayson Tatum, Knicks guard Jalen Brunson, and Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell also appearing on double-digit ballots. Notably, while just four of 100 media members had Anthony Edwards in their top five, one made the Timberwolves guard their MVP choice.
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- Although Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo of ESPN (Insider link) still feel as if the 2024 draft class is short on high-end talent, they believe it could end up being a relatively deep draft. Givony and Woo suggest that some teams will be able to find rotation players later in the first round or in the second round, even if there are no sure-fire stars at the top of the class.
- After being traded from Philadelphia to Indiana and then waived by the Pacers, veteran swingman Furkan Korkmaz has turned down interest from Turkish club Besiktas for now and is hoping to remain in the NBA, according to a report from Eurohoops. Korkmaz didn’t play much for the Sixers the past two seasons, but is still just 26 years old and is a 36.1% three-point shooter over the past five years.
- Former lottery pick Jahlil Okafor is on the move again, having recently signed with Puerto Rican team Capitanes de Arecibo, as Dario Skerletic of Sportando relays. The No. 3 overall pick in the 2015 draft, Okafor played in Spain and China earlier this season. He last played in the NBA with Detroit in 2020/21.
- Grizzlies guard Vince Williams has been chosen to replace injured Pelicans guard Dyson Daniels in this Friday’s Rising Stars game at All-Star weekend, while Indiana Mad Ants guard Kyle Mangas will replace Sixers two-way player Kenneth Lofton Jr. in the G League Next Up game, according to a pair of announcements from the NBA and NBAGL.
Furkan Korkmaz could be a nice bench piece for a team like Denver/LAC/MIN. Still young and can knock down the perimeter shot.
Did Okafor ever show up when he was traded to the Delaware Blue Coats
His face is everywhere, but on a NBA Court, which is a shame, but he did have talent
Wait a minute. Jayson Tatum should be way higher in the MVP race. He’s led the Celtics to the top of the standings as his own play, already high, has improved greatly this season. He’s almost a triple double each game, his turnovers are down and now he’s shooting more mid range shots. And he’s clutch on defense in crunch time as he showed with a huge block against Miami. By the end of the season I believe voters will see his overall game and vote him in. Go Tatum!
The thing with the MVP is that guys often get penalized for having too much talent around them. With the Celtics, that almost certainly applies when you have Jrue, Brown, Porzingis, White, Horford…
I agree Tatum is playing great this year. But the individual stats for Jokic, Giannis, SGA and Luka are all better(with all closer than the triple double comment) and with arguably less help than Tatum has so it’s not really about him being snubbed.
He isn’t deserving of a choice over those 4 but I would agree he deserves more votes than Kawahi though.
I’m not saying Jayson Tatum is better than Luka or anyone else. Just saying that if Tatum leads the Celtics to a championship he’s then more valuable than the others, thus Most Valuable Player.
That’s where the debate falls. Who is more valuable. Yeah Tatum may be making another finals, maybe even his first ring. But that’s out of the context of regular season MVP. I agree Celtics are the best team in the league but they have 4 all star level players around him, And then you have to ask if you were any other team. Who is more valuable to their team and all 4 stated are more valuable to their teams and likely across the league. Even with his injury I would still put Embiid over JT too.
Just for curiosity purposes. Draft from scratch, your picks in. Both Embiid and Tatum on the board, who you building a team around? The so called mvp who’s a train wreck come playoffs or the younger Tatum.
Coming from someone who has no connection to either, a scratch build around one? Embiid all day. He’s a better defender and the best offensive player in the league.
As I have said Celtics are the best team RN and were arguably the best team LY too. But that’s not just him it’s a collective of great players that he is part of. It’s like saying would you prefer an older Butler over Tatum because he’s a much better playoff player, obviously you’d take Tatum.
I’d take curry over all of them, nobody spreads the floor more
My pick is Tatum. Just look back to what has happened. Embiid’s been injured a lot and when he’s played Philly hasn’t won much. Every year Tatum’s been in the league Celts have made the playoffs.
Hmm, well the MVP vote should be taken after the Playoffs. We don’t know who took their team to the Title before.
Domantas Sabonis is averaging 19.9 points, 13.2 rebounds and 8.3 assists for Sacramento, a team with just 6 fewer wins than Denver. How does this guy not even get mentioned in the article. He is basically running the point for Sacramento now. NBA should be completely embarrassed that this guy is not an All-Star. 15 triple-doubles this year ….
Scoring is still easily the biggest measure for MVP. You have to be averaging at least 25 per game to even get consideration, probably. Don’t like it, but it is how it is.
It also doesn’t help that his defense, as usual, is awful. Even guys like Brunson and Mitchell are doing a halfway decent job. Mitchell is even second in the league in steals per game (tied third for total steals), though that’s not a good measure either.
For what it’s worth, Sabonis tied for 11th in Bontemps’ poll with a single 5th-place vote.
For the All Star point of view. It’s just the fact that the West is so stacked. There are likely 5 or 6 guys that would walk into the Eastern team over some of the players chosen. Had Sabonis been on an eastern team he’d be picked without hesitation. It’s messed up but it’s just the way it is.
Sabonis has done all that but yet still doesn’t play a lick of defense and might be the 2nd choice if I were picking for an MVP from just the Kings.
It is no longer the Big 2 in Sacramento. The team now belongs to Sabonis. Everything runs through him. DeAaron Fox last 4 games … 15 points, 15 points, 12 points, 19 points. Fox just leads team in scoring. Sabonis doesn’t take many shots. Shooting 62% from FG and 50% from 3 point. You might want to take another look at your MVP of the Sacramento Kings.
First off I said Sabonis “might be the 2nd choice if I were picking for an MVP from just the Kings” and no, it’s still two man show in Sacramento. At the end of the day someone has to put the ball in the basket. Fox is the engine Sabonis is the transmission.
Sabonis isn’t the definitive best player on the Kings just because some dude name Barry says so therefore I can’t say he deserves an MVP nod.
Since when do NBA players get penalized for by the league for not playing defense?????
By the League? Never. By the sportswriters who vote for the awards? All the time.
Since when does playing defense make you any less or more of an nba “star”
Sabonis is not good Kevon loney owns him
Draymond threatened to chokeslam anyone who voted for Sabonis.
Probably true
Jokic is unbelievable, makes all around him better. ESPN and Silver probably won’t be happy with this but Jokic going for 3rd mvp. Should be 4th and trying to repeat without a single all star on his team. Some question who the best player in the world is or demand other pampered media darlings need more help. This guy is a basketball genius, a 7 foot centre version of Larry Bird with less help.
No Steph mvp votes?
Of the 12 players who got at least one vote in this straw poll, none are on teams with worse records than the Pacers (30-25). If the Warriors keep winning, I imagine Steph will show up on end-of-season ballots.
Jokic not like bird he is like a 7 foot harden. Know how to flop his way to the foul line