The NBA season is hurtling towards its conclusion. This regular season has produced some special games, special moments, and special performances. Before the play-offs begin, the league will turn its attention to the end-of-season awards, most highly prized of which is the Most Valuable Player award.
This year’s race to the MVP was expected to be between two stars, Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder. But this week, the KIA MVP Ladder has predicted that a third challenger for the title has appeared late in the season, by the name of Victor Wembanyama.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander still tops the KIA MVP Ladder, followed now by Wembanyama, with Jokic trailing in 3rd. Luka Doncic of the Los Angeles Lakers is in 4th, while Cade Cunningham, point guard of the Detroit Pistons, drops to 5th.
The Rise of ‘Wemby’
Victor Wembanyama has enjoyed an incredible season with the San Antonio Spurs, averaging 24 points and 11 rebounds a game, while leading the league in blocks with an incredible 3.0 a game. He is also the firm favourite for the Defensive Player of the Year Award (DPOY). Now he has overtaken Nikola Jokic to go 2nd on the KIA MVP Ladder, chasing down Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for 1st place.
Shai remains the bookmakers’ favourite, with odds at 1.38, with Jokic trailing at 5.50 and Wembanyama remaining an outsider at 26.00. Our readers can access an exclusive dafabet bonus code to wager on the MVP race.
Who could be knocked out of the MVP race?
The biggest influence on the MVP race this year is not any of the players; it’s the possibility of injuries. All three of the main contenders have been hit with minor injuries over the course of the season, and have been brought close to being ineligible for the award. The NBA institutes a 65-game threshold: play less than 65 games across an 82-game season, and you’re ineligible for all major awards, including MVP.
Nikola Jokic is the most at risk, as a knee injury in late December sidelined him for 16 games, leaving him just one game above the threshold. One niggle or injury management game, and he’s out. Wembanyama is perilously close too, just two games clear of the threshold, and currently managing an ankle injury. If he fell injured again, he would also drop out of the running for Defensive Player of the Year. Even Shai, often considered an ‘Iron Man’ who avoids injury, has missed time and is allowed to miss five games before becoming ineligible.
The risks of injuries could mean, in a worse case scenario, Cade Cunningham could be a last-resort winner of the MVP award, as his fitness has not faltered this season. It is likely that Shai will maintain his fitness as the Oklahoma City Thunder coast to the end of the regular season. Jokic’s Denver Nuggets are still fighting to climb the standings, so the strain on him could put him at serious risk, and like Jokic, Wembanyama will be more focused on the play-offs than starting useless games that could aggravate injuries. It means the race for eligibility, and therefore the race for major awards, could go down to the wire.
