An exciting season is about to begin and the fight to be the best among all the stars of the NBA looms fierce. Today we review those players with potential to be the MVP of the 2021-22 regular season. Some have already been, others stayed very close, and there are also those who have earned this consideration in recent campaigns. Taking as a reference the evolution of all of them and how the NBA market has developed, we have selected those who should be closer to being chosen as the best of the year. Next, ten players who could who could take the MVP during the 2021-22 season in the NBA.
Nikola Jokic
The current NBA MVP enters the new season with every right to be considered once again one of the main candidates for the award. His game has been dazzling for years and last season he hit the final blow with 26.4 points, 10.8 rebounds and 8.3 assists per night. He is the leader of Denver, a team that is in the elite of the League and that will also require a lot from the Serbian, since Jamal Murray – the other pillar of the team – is injured.
Jokic is a machine for making numbers, but also for putting on a show. He does not have a privileged physique, but it is incredible to see the skill and agility that he projects on the floor despite his size. Watching him play is always synonymous with enjoying himself. If he gets the Nuggets to continue among the top spots in the Western Conference, repeat as the best in the regular season it would be anything but a surprise.
Stephen Curry
To leave him off this list would be sacrilege. Last season his game and his statistics were exceptional, but the team’s results kept him from the fight for the MVP. Looking at the upcoming course, the individual perspective is identical. We all hope to see Stephen Curry at his peak playing huge games, so his candidacy will gain or lose weight based on the results Golden State achieves.
Being in a Western Conference that will once again have fantastic teams, the Warriors will have to entrust themselves to a return at a high level of Klay Thompson, a step in front of James Wiseman, the best version of Andrew Wiggins and other factors to end good balance. We do not doubt that Curry will do his part, but leading San Francisco to the top of the NBA is more difficult.
Giannis Antetokounmpo
The two-time NBA MVP is already a Finals MVP. Last year he achieved his first ring with a heroic performance – injury by means of and 50 points in the last game – and in the face of the one that starts shortly, we cannot but expect more spectacle from those who have already touched the sky.
Thinking about what can stop a beast of his talent, we can think that he has already talked about going little by little with his knee and focusing efforts on the final part of the season. The Bucks understood last season that to win you don’t have to go 100 percent in November, and with that premise maybe The Greek Freak will start off easy. In any case, and given his dominance, it would be strange that he did not leave another global performance worthy of the basketball Olympus. You have to count on him, it’s unquestionable.
Luka Doncic
The Slovenian has been on the MVP contender list for two years (from the second of his career). There are no doubts about it. On an individual level, he is one of the best in the NBA and has made Dallas one of the most attractive teams to watch. As in the case of other players, his candidacy only needs the Mavericks to take the next step; that is to say, make the leap definitively to be in the elite.
Last year he averaged 27.7 points, 8.6 assists and 8 rebounds; numbers that corroborate what we commented. If he can get the Texans to improve ostensibly, something that the arrival of Jason Kidd should also influence the bench, the award could go to Slovenia.
Kevin Durant
Another one that appears on this list on its own merits. The Brooklyn forward returned last season after tearing his Achilles tendon to a level that amazed. Not only did he fully recover from such a complicated injury, but he was jumping onto the track and starting to play games immediately.
Being perhaps the best offensive player in the NBA – and one of the best in history – staying healthy could catapult him to the second MVP award of his career. The previous course shone, but he could only play 35 games. If the Nets achieve their expected results, and if Durant, as expected, leads such a collective performance with numbers similar to those seen a year ago (26.9 points, 7.1 rebounds and 5.9 assists) see him celebrate. on several occasions it is something that would fall under its own weight.
LeBron James
Of course. He has been an MVP for an entire career and for this 2021-22 campaign no less is expected. We might think that at 36 years old and with the goal of another ring on the horizon, LeBron James will regulate his efforts in the first months of competition, but El Rey does not understand that, but rather about playing basketball at his best level and win every night. In 2020 he ended up annoyed with the voting for the award. He wants another, and it could be this one.
While some expect Anthony Davis to take over from El Rey as Lakers leader, for now that role appears to remain in the possession of the four-ring winner. On the one hand we have that LeBron has not shown signs of going down at any time. On the other hand, Davis is prone to injury. If there is not a great script twist, La Ceja will have to continue biding its time.
Joel Embiid
The Sixers center faces a really important season and, to a certain extent, with uncertainty. Philadelphia will not have Ben Simmons (in absentia after requesting the transfer) and Joel Embiid will be alone as the leader of a team that has been aiming high for too many years to end up missing the shot. In any case, seeing the Cameroonian suffering a decrease in his benefits sounds impossible, so he will once again be a candidate to be crowned the best player of the season.
Understanding how good Embiid is, and as with other players, his chances of ending up as MVP depend more on the team’s victories than on his particular numbers, although it is clear that the latter will push the former to be fulfilled. . A year ago he finished in second place after Nikola Jokic. The 76ers star has talent to spare so that this time he is the one who ends up crowned.
Damian Lillard
Another that lives year after year on this list. Damian Lillard has been the star of the Blazers for a decade, but seeing his team always behind others has not helped him one bit. This summer it seemed for a moment that he would want to leave Portland, but his own voice has come out that he gives them another chance (ultimatum?). Despite this somewhat rarefied environment, his exceptional qualities cannot make us wait any longer than another season in the elite.
Last year he was at 28.8 points and 7.5 assists. Seeing him at that level will be the logical thing to do from the end of October but… can Portland take a step forward? We already know how important it is to be MVP that the team is among the top positions in your conference. Lillard needs this to be Portland’s year just as much as Oregon’s needs to be fulfilled as is. We give you a vote of confidence.
Bring young
The Atlanta point guard took a huge leap last season by making his team one of the best in the Eastern Conference and having a fantastic playoff run (they reached the Eastern finals against the Milwaukee Bucks). Given his spectacular on the court and the enormous numbers that he almost always treasures (25.3 points and 9.4 assists last year), we can say that he is in a good balance in the regular season of being in the fight with the best of the league. NBA and, seen what has been seen, it is difficult to doubt it.
The Hawks formed a squad in the 2020 preseason that with Nate McMillan at the helm had an exceptional performance. All his important pieces follow and Young is the leader of all of them. Yes, we may be facing a historic campaign by the star of Georgia.
James Harden
We repeat with Brooklyn to close the list. When James Harden came to the Nets last season there were doubts about his physical form and, above all, his fit. However, these were quickly dissipated. La Barba literally made the Nets better, especially to an attack that flowed dramatically under his command; so much so that the triple-doubles were falling at a dizzying pace while signing the best assist record of his career with 10.9 per night …
Kevin Durant, his teammate, is ahead in the betting, but already last season there was a moment in which -injury of the first by means of-, Harden entered among the favorites to the MVP because not only did he sign crazy numbers, but the Nets they kept racking up victories. This year, doing the preseason with New Yorkers and settled in the Steve Nash system, we can not wait but more, and better, from the one who was already MVP in 2018.
Do you miss names that can really qualify for this prestigious award that only NBA legends have won? Here is the complete list of those who have won the MVP throughout history.
