Some familiar names headline the MVP race

As we enter the post-All-Star portion of this NBA season, things are heating up on and off the court. The debate around who will take this year’s Kia MVP award remains a hot topic. Here are some of the favorites this season:

Giannis Antetokounmpo

The favorite to win MVP is Giannis Antetokounmpo, last season’s recipient of the award. With Giannis averaging around 30 points per game, he is currently the number two scorer in the league. The Greek Freak has led the Bucks to the current top point differential at +12.2, the highest in the league by a mile (4.2 points higher than the second-place Lakers). With the Bucks scoring the earliest playoff berth ever, it’s safe to say Giannis is the odds on favorite to win the award.

Nikola Jokic

Nikola Jokic is another name in the conversation. Despite a rough start to the season, Jokic has been instrumental in Denver’s success. Arguably the best center in the league, Jokic has led the Nuggets to the two seed in the west and has proven himself to be an elite two-way player. After last season’s loss in game seven of the conference semi-finals against Portland, it’s looking like the Joker will lead the Nuggets farther into the playoffs this time around.

Lebron James

Lebron James, of course, cannot ever be ruled out for MVP contention. He’s having a monster season since the addition of Anthony Davis to the Laker roster. Leading the league in assists, and currently being the top seed in the stacked western conference not only secured the Laker’s favorites to come out of the west but put Lebron in the MVP conversation for sure. His level of play on the court in his 17th season is unprecedented.

The other guys

Some honorable mentions for MVP are James Harden, the league’s leading scorer, Luka Doncic, Dallas’s wunderkind and Portland’s Damian Lillard who so far has had the highest-scoring game this season with 61 points. All of these players could be argued into the top-three conversations, and I could see any of them making their way into a top spot in voting.

The Vegas odds are putting Giannis in high favor for the win by a long shot. Despite Giannis’s dominance in Milwaukee, ruling out any of these other players is tough. With this much talent in the league, and the way rosters have shifted in many player’s favors, I think the rest of the season’s race for MVP will be very fun to watch.