NBA MVP Race Player Rankings: It’s Damian Lillard Time for the Blazers

Since last ranking: 30.2 PPG, 7.8 APG, 4.0 RPG, 1.4 SPG

Shooting splits: .418/.365/.909

It hasn’t been the best statistical week for Damian Lillard, which is really saying something. Most NBA players would kill to get one week like the one Lillard could basically just shrug off, but the biggest factor is that the Portland Trail Blazers simply refuse to lose.

With CJ McCollum and Jusuf Nurkic sidelined, Lillard has kept the Blazers afloat. Thanks to a 5-0 week, they’re 8-5 in the 13 games McCollum has missed. It doesn’t get much more “MVP” than that, and the Blazers hold a 17-10 record and the four-seed in the Western Conference. In fact, they would have the second-best record in the East, and Lillard deserves all the credit.

Since last ranking: 25.0 PPG, 10.3 RPG, 9.0 APG, 1.3 SPG

Shooting splits: .603/.353/1.000

Like Lillard, this wasn’t even Nikola Jokic‘s best week, but he finally overtook Joel Embiid for this week’s top spot. The Denver Nuggets remain maddeningly inconsistent, but they strung together a 3-1 week and sit seventh in the West with a 15-12 record.

One never knows what Jokic will get from his teammates, but they know what they’re going to get from him on a nightly basis. He remains one of the most productive and unstoppable big men the NBA has seen, and if his Nugget teammates ever give him something resembling a reliable effort, he’s going to have a top-tier shot at MVP this year.