2022 NBA MVP: Who Has Made The Best Case For NBA MVP?

[Herbert Playz]

Joel Embiid is certainly deserving. Joel is probably going to lead the league in scoring. But he' playing with James Harden an All Star and all NBA talent. Joel Embiid is also has a proven NBA championship coach in Doc Rivers. Who has tons of playoff experience.

Nikola Jokic is top 10 in points, rebounds and assists. Plus I keep hearing that he has the highest PER of all time. Jokic is an analytics dream. Its hard to argue against him when you look at his all around numbers this season but it's even harder to argue against him when you put his stats in a historical perspective. However there are players with higher overall numbers in certain categories and some players play on teams that have won more games.

Giannis Antetokounmpo has very similar numbers to Embiid and we would be doing him a disservice, if we were to give Embiid heavy MVP consideration when Giannis is also considered a perennial candidate for NBA defensive player of the year. Defense its just not respected as much in the NBA(unfortunately) as offense.

Devin Booker makes a great argument. He's the best player on the best team. And his team has a superior record when compared to everyone else in the league. No one else is even close. Chris Paul has missed significant time but the Suns have continued to win. The only issue is that Booker hasn't been producing on the same level as the other guys. And you can argue that he has significant help with the likes of Chris Paul doing most of the decision making when on the court and Deandre Ayton producing points at a very efficient rate at the center position. Although, that said, another Phoenix Suns guard won MVP two times in a row. Even though there were other players that scored more points that year Nash's teams had great superior records. In a way its a bit unfair to Booker that he's not getting more consideration. Even a casual fan could see that those Phoenix teams were stacked.

Ja Morant is incredible. He is absolutely box office. He is definitely be in my top 3 players in the game today that I would  pay to go see perform. His scoring and drives are absolutely electric and he plays the game with passion. I love that as a fan. However, his team is 19 - 2 when he doesn't play.  19 and 2! He has an incredible team that doesn't get enough credit by the NBA media and I think this kind of works against him. 19-2 without the MVP? As long as Ja stays healthy, he is gonna have plenty of opportunities to win NBA MVP but I don't think he deserves it over the other guys this year.

The dark horse is of course Luka Doncic. I think if he were to explode with a couple 50 pieces in the last 6 games of the season and Mavs end up with a better record than the Sixers, Bucks and Nuggets. A legitimate argument could be made that Luka is actually most deserving of NBA MVP. When you watch him in the pick and roll, his decision making just feels unstoppable. He almost always makes the right decision. If Luka had started the season in better condition he would have more than an outside shot at MVP. To me it just feels like Luka is the supreme conductor. I feel like he's the best at just controlling his team on the offensive end of the court. He's deserving of MVP but the narrative of early season struggles by the national media are gonna hold him back, in the eye of MVP voters.

Whichever way the MVP race goes, all these guys are top notch, if any of them win MVP, it would be hard to say they didn't deserve it. I think the player most likely to feel cheated were he to lose, would be Devin Booker. He really does have a stronger argument based on past MVP voting theory. He is technically producing at a MVP level. 26 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists 86% from the free throw line, 1.1 steals.

I'll be honest, I feel like if this were Kevin Durant or Lebron or Curry with those numbers and their teams had a superior record, they would be a lock for MVP. It doesn't matter how good the other players were playing. Voters would simply cite MVP numbers and best player on the best team theory.

NBA basketball this year is great and I think the playoffs will surpass all expectations. I have no idea who's gonna win the championship this year. But I feel like ratings are gonna be through the roof.