Utah Jazz: Best candidates for 2018-19 NBA awards

MVP: Donovan Mitchell

Is there anyone else?

As great as Joe Ingles and Ricky Rubio were for the Jazz last season, Donovan Mitchell was the star of the show. As great as Mitchell was, he has a chance to be even better. That doesn’t mean his numbers have to make a drastic leap.

The past two MVP winners have been James Harden and Russell Westbrook. Here are there MVP-season numbers:

• James Harden: 72 GP, 30.4 PPG, 8.8 APG, 5.4 RPG, 44.9 FG%, 36.7 3P%
• Russell Westbrook: 81 GP, 31.6 PPG, 10.4 APG, 10.7 RPG, 42.5 FG%, 34.3 3P%

Here are Donovan Mitchell’s numbers from last season:

Donovan Mitchell: 79 GP, 20.5 PPG, 3.7 APG, 3.7 RPG, 43.7 FG%, 34.0 3P%

These numbers aren’t listed because Mitchell is about to average a triple-double next season, nor is it a lock he’ll average 20 more points a game. Taking another big leap in his second season isn’t impossible though. Why not Mitchell?

When he came out of Louisville and was traded to the Jazz on draft night, he was considered a good pick, but was hardly expected to become a superstar. Now he’s one of the surest things on Utah’s roster.

Mitchell doesn’t need to average a triple-double or average 30-plus points per game. If he averaged say, 27-ish points per game and led the Jazz to 55-60 wins while increasing his rebounding and assist numbers to hovering around 5-6 a game? Then he may be in the conversation.

Odds: Good