We’re coming down to the dog days of the NBA regular season with the play-in tournament and the playoffs quickly approaching. But one thing that has been a topic all season is the league’s highest individual regular-season award: the MVP. Earlier in the season, Celtics star forward Jayson Tatum and Dallas Mavericks star guard Luka Doncic were in heated MVP discussions, but as the season has progressed, it has become a three-horse race headlined by none other than Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, and Philadelphia Sixers center Joel Embiid.
This just goes to show how far the league has come when it comes to international talent (thanks to David Stern), as the top three finalists in the last three seasons have all been international, with the last American-born player to win MVP being James Harden in 2018 when he did so as a member of the Houston Rockets.
The last four regular season MVP awards have gone to the “Greek Freak” (’19, ’20) and to “The Joker” (’21, ’22). Will one of them win their third MVP? Or will Embiid snatch his first MVP? Let us make a case for each player.