NBA 2018-19: MVP power rankings - October 2018
The long-awaited start to the NBA season has not disappointed in the least so far. LeBron James is a Laker, while Jimmy Butler still angles his way out of Minneapolis while playing his heart out on court. DeMar DeRozan is in rude health and possibly the best form of his NBA career, and news of the Spurs' post-Kawhi future has been way overblown.
Across the league, we have seen monster performances through the course of the 8-9 games each team has played thus far, and so, we're looking ahead to finding poster boys who decide the narrative of the season. Who makes the cut for the top 5 in our MVP power rankings for the first fortnight of action? Read on to find out!
#5 Steph Curry
We've all seen it unfold before our eyes - how Golden State has broken the league and revolutionized the geometry of offensive schemes to provide spacing like never before. And while Steph is the darling of millions of basketball fans and the role model for every errant shooter at your local pickup game, I feel he really is underappreciated for how he's changed the league, possibly forever.
What won't go unnoticed in my eyes, however, is his insane start to the season - even by the gold standard of his 2015-16 unanimous MVP campaign. At one point after 7 games, Steph had more 3-pointers made than the Washington Wizards and the Oklahoma City Thunder - 2 teams slated to make the playoffs. Think about that for a second.
For all the talk that Kevin Durant's arrival will eclipse his numbers, Steph is currently averaging 33 points, 5 rebounds and 5.9 assists while shooting ungodly splits - 54.9% from the field, a staggering 52.9% of his 11.6 3-point attempts (making 6.1 per game) and 91.3% of his free throws. And he's only playing 34 minutes a game at that!
If he keeps this performance up for any longer, even the most one-eyed fans will be unable to stop him catapulting to the top of our leaderboard.