NBA MVP Rankings: Embiid, Jokić Battle It Out Once Again

Dec. 15 is an important date in the NBA. It’s the day a majority of offseason signings become available to trade, making it something of the start of the trade season between now and the February deadline. The anticipation for Christmas games starts to grow. And most teams are at or past the quarter mark of their schedules. So now is as good a time as any to introduce Sports Illustrated’s MVP rankings. Every week we’ll rank our top five candidates for the award until we pick a winner at the end of the season. In this inaugural version, some familiar faces are at the top.

While Jokić has had to navigate Jamal Murray’s hamstring injury, Embiid had to deal with the James Harden drama—and yet, both have been phenomenal so far this season. 

David Zalubowski/AP (Jokic); Matt Slocum/AP (Embiid)

1a. Joel Embiid