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2018-19 NBA MVP Ladder: New Year edition

By Gerald Bourguet

Photo by Jeff Haynes/NBAE via Getty Images
Photo by Jeff Haynes/NBAE via Getty Images /
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Photo by Layne Murdoch Jr./NBAE via Getty Images /

10. Anthony Davis

Stat line: 28.5 PPG, 13.0 RPG, 4.5 APG, 2.6 BPG, 1.7 SPG, .507/.323/.803 shooting splits, 30.1 PER

It seems crazy to put Anthony Davis this low with the year he’s having. If the season ended today, he’d be leading the league in Player Efficiency Rating. Nearly posting a 28-13-5-3-2 stat line, there’s no question the Brow’s individual numbers deserve MVP consideration. If that’s all this award were based on, only James Harden would hold a candle to the Brow so far in 2018-19.

Unfortunately, team success is a major factor in the MVP race. Russell Westbrook was the first player since Moses Malone in 1982-83 to win MVP on a team that finished outside the top-three spots in his respective conference, and he had to average a triple-double for an entire season to pull it off.

With the New Orleans Pelicans floundering to a 17-21 record, AD’s team just doesn’t have the wins to put him in serious MVP consideration at this point. Injuries have played a role there, and no one can blame the Brow for his team’s underwhelming start, but if he wants to legitimately join the conversation, it’ll take a drastic surge up the standings over the next four months.