Among the resources I tap into before e-filing my annual MVP ballot are those charged with scheming to stop the contenders. With only so many games you can watch, stats you can pore over and advanced analytics you can dig up, I find it useful to crowdsource opinions from professionals. So, with a week or so remaining in the regular season, I fire off text messages to a group of assistant coaches, video coordinators and scouts I frequently communicate with. Of the 23 responses I got this year, no player received double-digit endorsements.
This year’s MVP vote is expected to be the closest in NBA history. ESPN’s most recent straw poll had Joel Embiid—the third player to lead three iterations of the poll of likely voters—leading Nikola Jokić by two points, with Giannis Antetokounmpo still within shouting distance. Competitive, two-man MVP races are not uncommon. Magic Johnson and Charles Barkley were separated by 22 points in 1989–90. Karl Malone beat Michael Jordan by just 29 points in ’96–97.
This kind of three-man race, though, is a lot rarer. But deserved.
