Ranking the NBA MVP Candidates Right Now

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That’s right -- Pascal Siakam on an MVP-candidate list! The league's Most Improved Player a season ago, Siakam has embraced his increased role after Leonard's departure. The 25-year-old from Cameroon has become Toronto's go-to guy.

Siakam is averaging 25.1 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 3.6 APG, 1.0 SPG, and 1.0 BPG. Those are all career-bests. He’s also shooting a career-best 39.2% from 3-point range, which is something important to keep an eye on. He’s attempting nearly 10 more shots per game this season, and his MPG has increased by 5. Largely because of Siakam's strong play, the Raptors are still one of the best teams in the East, with a 21-8 record and recent five-game winning streak. 

To wit: this guy is having a career year, and we likely still haven’t seen his best.

Embiid is another guy who’s been great...yet not quite what he could be. That was the gist of the recent criticism he received from Shaq and Charles Barkley. As Shaq put it: “We’re telling you, ‘You can be great. You ain’t playing hard enough.’ … Do you want to be great, or do you want to be good? If you want to be good, keep doing 22 points. You want to be great, give me 28, give me 30. You want to be great, watch Giannis; he wants to be great.”

This season, Embiid is playing fewer minutes (30.9 MPG, down from 33.7 a season ago), which is probably a sound long-term strategy because his goal is to make it to the playoffs healthy -- yet his FG attempts are also down (16.1 FGA per game, down from 18.7) and so are his efficiency (46.4 FG%, down from 48.4) and scoring (23.1, from 27.5). Embiid’s productivity has diminished across the board. Losing J.J. Redick and adding Al Horford has clearly affected the former Jayhawk.

That bit of analysis makes it seem like JoJo has been bad. He hasn’t -- he’s still been one of the best bigs in the league. He just hasn’t lived up to his potential and isn’t a real MVP threat right now.

Kawhi Leonard’s partner in crime has had a strong start to the season. The 29-year-old, traded from OKC to L.A. in the offseason, is averaging 24.2 PPG, 5.8 RPG, and 3.7 APG, and shooting better than 40% from 3. Like Leonard, his two-way play is what puts him on this list; in addition to his offensive prowess, he’s averaging 1.5 steals per game.

However, George has only played in 21 games after missing the first 11 of the season, and he’s also been inconsistent. For example, in a recent two-game stretch against the Spurs and his former team in OKC, George combined to score 29 total points on 10-for-28 shooting, with seven total rebounds and seven total assists. Those aren’t MVP-caliber numbers. 

He’s still an All-NBA guy, but he’ll need to go up another level to seriously contend for this award...and, though his team has been good, the Clips will need to do the same if they want to seriously challenge the league’s best for NBA supremacy.

Kawhi made the bold move of winning the title and Finals MVP with the Raptors -- leading the franchise to its first championship -- and then, after giving his next move serious thought, spurning Toronto for the warmer West Coast. It always seemed inevitable that he’d make his way back to his home of California, but it was still somewhat surprising to see him bolt after how well he was treated by Masai Ujiri & Co.

Leonard isn’t one to put up gaudy offensive stats like Harden, but he has carried his holistic strong play from the 2019 postseason into his first campaign with the Clippers. In addition to playing lockdown D, he’s averaging 25.5 PPG, 7.8 RPG, and 5.1 APG, and shooting 36% from the field. 

Leonard has never won an MVP, and given the competitor he is, you know he’s got to be motivated to add that honor to his already impressive resume. Though he’s been great this year -- for example, he recently exploded for 42 and 11 boards on the Timberwolves -- Leonard has been a bit up and down. He hasn’t been consistent enough to crack our top five.

Probably the biggest surprise on this list, but the fact that Jimmy Butler has the Miami Heat at 22-9 and the 3-seed in the East right now makes him a legit MVP candidate. Is he going to be able to get into the top-5 at some point? That remains to be seen, but you're lying if you thought he'd have this Heat team playing this well so far this season.

And the crazy thing is that Jimmy isn't even shooting that well from deep so far this season, coming in at a 28% clip, so far. You'd think that would creep up closer to the 33% range, where he's been at for most of his career. Even with the lower numbers from deep, Jimmy is still averaging 20 PPG and dishing out over six assists a night, which is a career high. This is easily one of the best stories of the NBA season so far, with Jimmy Butler leading the way down in Miami. 

Two Lakers in the top five? Two Lakers in the top five! 

How’s this line sound for A.D.? 26.9 PPG 9.4 RPG, 2.7 BPG, 1.4 SPG, 3.3 APG, 50% from the field. Now that’s something. Oh, and a reminder that the Lakers are 24-6 behind LeBron, Davis, and...well, LeBron and Davis.

The two stars are close friends off the court, and their chemistry has been evident on it from Day 1. Given their success early in the season, there is now “leaguewide speculation” that Davis will re-up with the Lake Show. After all the Magic Johnson drama, that’s got to be music to Jeanie Buss’ ears. At 26, in the prime of his career, playing for the most storied franchise in the NBA, Davis has never been better. He’s dealt with some injuries, but winning his first MVP -- or at least coming close to it -- would seal the deal for him staying with L.A.

Unfortunately, Luka recently suffered an ankle injury that has kept him from playing and could harm his MVP candidacy, depending on when he returns. During his time on the court, the second-year stud from Slovenia has been the franchise player many expected him to become while watching him star in the EuroLeague.

Only 20 years old, Luka is averaging 29.3 PPG, 9.6 RPG, and 8.9 APG. Yes, practically a triple-double -- from a 20-year-old in his second season! Trae Young has been explosive, too, but think the Hawks are regretting that deal yet? Perhaps most impressively, Doncic has improved his field goal percentage from 42.7 to 48.1. He’s playing the same amount that he did a season ago, but as he’s acclimated to the league, he has become both more aggressive and more efficient -- and his scoring has ratcheted up by 8 PPG. 

We’re praying for a Giannis-Luka rivalry to develop. The league is in great hands.

The only player other than Giannis to receive first-place MVP votes last year (Harden ultimately finished second), the Beard won the award in 2017-18 and also finished second in 2016-17. In other words: this guy is always at the top of MVP ballots. And this season will be no different. 

In his reunion with former OKC chum Russell Westbrook, Harden is putting up eye-grabbing scoring numbers: 38.8 points per game. Allow us to repeat that number: 38.8! And he’s attempting essentially the same number of shots that he has the past few years (he actually attempted more in 2015-16). Harden’s efficiency is magical. His rebounding and defensive numbers are down just a tick from a season ago, which is why he isn’t No. 1 on this list, but his offensive performance has been sensational, and he’s right up there with the top contenders.

At 20-9 and third in the West, the Rockets have to be pleased with early returns on the Russ-Beard experiment.

There’s little left for LeBron James to add to his resume. He’s won three NBA titles and four MVPs, and he’s arguably the most influential athlete ever. If you’ve watched LeBron on his HBO show, The Shop, you know he seems like a man who’s pretty content with what he’s accomplished.

But winning an MVP at the age of 35? That would mean something to him. Only Karl Malone has done that before. And Bron-Bron has a legitimate shot at it!

While grooming Anthony Davis to take over center stage as the Franchise Guy, LBJ has allowed his minutes (34.8 MPG) and scoring (25.8 PPG) to dip slightly. But for the first time in his career, he’s averaging double-digit assists (10.6 APG). He’s playing within himself and running the show for the West’s best team like a master composer. In addition to his next-level facilitation, he’s shooting as well as he has at any point in his career (36% from outside). He looks as good as he ever has...which is why Giannis says Bron is an “alien.”

In 2018-19, the Greek Freak was a complete monster. He averaged 27.7 points and 12.5 rebounds per game in leading Milwaukee to the East’s No. 1 seed. He deservedly claimed his first MVP and appeared to have actualized his potential.

In 2019-20...he’s been even better! The newly minted 25-year-old has a line of 31.0 points and 12.9 rebounds per game, and he's shooting 34.2% from 3-point range. That’s right -- at long last, Giannis can actually shoot (for the most part). Oh, and the Bucks have been even better, too, with a league-leading 27-4 record. We all knew that for this guy, the ceiling was the roof, but man -- it’s becoming downright unfair, like a video game come to life.