Hoops Habit
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5 dark horse candidates to win the 2022-23 MVP award

By Holden Walter-Warner

LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers and Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks. Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images
LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers and Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks. Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images /
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SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA – NOVEMBER 30: Domantas Sabonis #10 of the Sacramento Kings reacts after the Kings made a basket against the Indiana Pacers at Golden 1 Center on November 30, 2022 in Sacramento, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA – NOVEMBER 30: Domantas Sabonis #10 of the Sacramento Kings reacts after the Kings made a basket against the Indiana Pacers at Golden 1 Center on November 30, 2022 in Sacramento, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /

1. Domantas Sabonis, Sacramento Kings

The Sacramento Kings are the feel-good story of the season, making a legitimate run at ending the sport’s longest playoff drought. There are multiple reasons for that, but Domantas Sabonis is probably the biggest.

Sacramento acquired Sabonis at the trade deadline last year from the Indiana Pacers in a deal that sent Tyrese Haliburton to Indiana. At the moment, it’s looking like a rare win-win for the two teams.

To fully appreciate Sabonis, one needs to look past the big man’s scoring numbers. He only averages 18.9 points per game, which is not worthy of MVP consideration on its own.

But Sabonis is a beast on the boards, making a difference on both ends of the backboard. He leads the NBA with his career-high 12.4 rebounds per game. In a few games, he should set his own personal record for total rebounds in a season.

Is he a triple threat, though? Consult the numbers. Sabonis has proven to be an effective passing big before and he’s doing so again this season, averaging 6.9 dishes per game. That’s 13th in the NBA as of Sunday night.

His all-around game is simply flourishing this season. He has seven triple-doubles, good for seventh in the league. And the only player who has more win shares this season? Jokic (by a healthy margin, by the way).

This is a subjective award, so while the numbers are important, so is the narrative. A full season of Sabonis is one of the two biggest differences in Sacramento from last year, the other being the arrival of Mike Brown (who deserves some Coach of the Year buzz). The Kings are somehow third in the Western Conference standings and poised to snap its 16-year playoff drought.

Next. Point differential standings. dark

For all those reasons, Domantas Sabonis deserves to be a dark horse candidate to take home the MVP award.