My MVP Candidates For 2018-2019

5. Kawhi

Before last season and the circus that came with it  Kawhi was an MVP candidate the previous two seasons. He had been putting up great offensive numbers while playing DPOY level defense for a 50 win Spurs team. He never really got a lot of MVP love though because the Spurs have always been good. Now he joins a Raptors team that won 59 games and got the 1 seed the year before and faces the same problem. The Raptors were just too good last year and unless Kawhi takes them to 65 wins it will be hard for him to win MVP. However, I still expect a great bounce-back season from him which lands him in the top 5.

4. Lebron

You have to put Lebron in any sort of MVP talk, you would be stupid not to. He has been in the conversation since he came into the league and that’s not changing any time soon. He joined a new team with a bunch of young guys and no other established stars which already gives him a narrative. He should be putting up good stats while taking the Lakers to the playoffs for the first time in a few years. That’s all enough to put him in the running but unfortunately (or fortunately depending on your feelings) the Lakers will not be good enough for him to actually win it.

3. Kyrie

Here at the top 3 is where it really starts to get interesting. This is where the race becomes more of a toss up in which any guy has a chance to win, including Kyrie. He is going to be playing for a very good Celtics team that is likely to get the 1st seed in the east. He is coming off an underrated and extremely efficient season last year. The only person who has ever matched his efficiency from last year is Steph who won back to back MVPs. Kyrie is going to be playing with a loaded team which may take away some of his votes but it will also allow him to be even more efficient and pick his spots. He has that benefit but is still the best player on the team that can go off for 40 on any given night. Get ready for Kyrie to get funkier than ever this year.

2. Anthony Davis

I honestly thought Anthony Davis should have been considered a lot more for MVP last year. He had his best year while carrying a Boogie-less Pelicans team to the playoffs in a loaded West. He was also a finalist for DPOY after having his best defensive season yet. I personally would have picked him last year but Harden also had a phenomenal season and it was his time. Now the generation before AD has all gotten their MVPs. NBA writers typically don’t like giving MVP to a guy twice unless they are an all time great. This clears the way for younger stars like AD to win one. He should be a frontrunner for it this year because he should have a solid team and he should put up numbers. Like I said with Lebron though, I don’t know if his team will be good enough in the loaded West for him to win it.

1. Giannis

This is my pick for MVP this year: the strong, burly, wholesome, and pure Giannis. It’s finally his time to cement himself as a top 5 player in the league. Last year he was amazing, the only problem was he was being coached by Jason Kidd and Joe Prunty. It’s why the Bucks struggled so much. But this year Giannis now has Mike Budenholzer who should improve this Bucks team a lot. He did wonders with the Hawks turning Kyle Korver and Jeff Teague into All-Stars. If he can do that I’m fairly certain he can make Giannis into an MVP. Budenholzer’s specialty is offense which is perfect because the Bucks were a mess on that end last year. He should get Giannis working as a drive and kick facilitator while surrounding him with spacing which should create a lot of opportunities for him. His defense will still be at the elite All-Defense caliber it was before and the Bucks should see a bump in wins. I think the Bucks end up as a top 3 seed in the East and because of that and the stats Giannis is poised to put up he will win MVP.

 

Like I said before, I think anyone in the top 3 has a chance to win. It really depends on how their teams do which will affect the narrative for all of them. No matter who wins though I’m looking forward to (hopefully) another young, new face taking home the award.