NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) Power Rankings featuring Giannis Antetokounmpo, Joel Embiid and more | March 29th, 2022
We have entered the final two weeks of the 2021-22 NBA regular season, and the NBA MVP race is more chaotic than ever before. Jayson Tatum has made a late entry in the power rankings after not appearing in it the entire season.
Ja Morant has been knocked off the top five because he has a better chance of winning the Most Improved Player award in his third season than the coveted MVP one. He does deserve consideration for the award, and there is no doubt he is destined to win one in his career. The Grizzlies are second in the West with a 52-win record and are top five in both offensive and defensive rating.
Why should Ja Morant win Most Improved Player?
“The leap to MVP candidate is far more difficult than any other leap in this game.”
@talkhoops’ new NBA Awards Rankings: theathletic.com/3182962/?sourc… https://t.co/YtN6mRIfcw
DeMar DeRozan's MVP case has vanished as the Chicago Bulls have entered a terrible slump. After leading the East for over a month, they are now down to fifth and have lost 10 of their last 14 games. It's safe to say, DeRozan is not going to get votes ahead of some of the other candidates in the race.
Players like Kevin Durant and Steph Curry were also leading the NBA MVP race, but their significant injuries and missed time has wrecked their cases. Moreover, Devin Booker of the Phoenix Suns is making a splash in the MVP conversation, and many stars believe he deserves a nomination for the award.
So without further ado, here's a look at the top five of the NBA MVP power rankings by Sportskeeda:
#5 Jayson Tatum
Previous week's NBA MVP Power Ranking - N/A
Last Week: Games played - 3; Games won - 3; Games lost - 0
Overall: Games played - 71; Games won - 45; Games lost - 26
Last Week: PPG - 32.0, APG - 5.0, RPG - 5.0
Overall: PPG - 27.1, APG - 4.3, RPG - 8.1
Last Week: FG% - 58.2%, 3P% - 50%, SPG - 1.0
Overall: FG% - 45.0%, 3P% - 35.6%, SPG - 0.9
If someone told you in November that the Boston Celtics would be leading the Eastern Conference, you'd probably laugh.
Jayson Tatum and the Celtics have turned their season around in dramatic fashion, going from 18-21 in January to 47-28 now. Tatum has entered the NBA MVP conversation quite late in the season. and one of the things standing in the way of his award is consistency.
Another factor is the exceptional performances of Jaylen Brown, which makes the case that the Celtics are winning because of the Jays duo and not just Tatum.
Jayson Tatum MVP case:
— 27.1 PPG, 8.1 RPG (career highs)
— Leads NBA in total points
— Leads NBA in +/-
— Best record in East
— Best point differential in East
— Best point differential in 2022
— Best defense in NBA
— Celtics 22-5 when he scores 30+ https://t.co/94Ex9VZ5nz
#4 Luka Doncic
Previous week's NBA MVP Power Ranking - 4th (-)
Last Week: Games played - 3; Games won - 2; Games lost - 1
Overall: Games played - 58; Games won - 38; Games lost - 20
Last Week: PPG - 23.7, APG - 7.7, RPG - 8.7
Overall: PPG - 27.9, APG - 8.5, RPG - 9.1
Last Week: FG% - 42.9%, 3P% - 41.4%, SPG - 0.7
Overall: FG% - 45.4%, 3P% - 35.0%, SPG - 1.2.
Luka Doncic didn't lace up against the Houston Rockets, and his team managed a blowout victory. The Dallas Mavericks are now fourth in the West with homecourt advantage for the playoffs.
Just like Tatum, Luka Doncic has also sparked a marvellous turnaround for the Mavericks this season. After starting 16-18, they are now 46-29. They are just two games behind the 3rd-place Golden State Warriors. If they enter the top three, Doncic's NBA MVP credentials will strengthen.
The top 6 MVP candidates record vs each other:
Luka: 7-2
Tatum: 6-5
Embiid: 4-4
Ja: 3-4
Giannis: 2-3
Jokic: 3-7 https://t.co/dobpKqcIEo
#3 Nikola Jokic
Previous week's NBA MVP Power Ranking - 3rd (-)
Last Week: Games played - 3; Games won - 2; Games lost - 1
Overall: Games played - 69; Games won - 43; Games lost - 26
Last Week: PPG - 31.0, APG - 6.7, RPG - 10.7
Overall: PPG - 26.3, APG - 7.9, RPG - 13.5
Last Week: FG% - 77.5%, SPG - 2.3, BPG - 1.7
Overall: FG% - 57.7%, SPG - 1.4, BPG - 0.9.
Nikola Jokic was deep in his bag last week, averaging 31 points per game while shooting 77% from the field. He had two games where he shot over 85% even though he didn't convert his three-pointers.
The Nuggets are back to sixth in the West. If they manage to overtake fifth-place Utah Jazz (one game ahead), Jokic's case for MVP will improve significantly. He already leads the NBA in PER and most advanced stats and is the only player who is top 10 in points, assists and rebounding.
Shaq asks Nikola Jokic if he "really thinks about" winning MVP:
"To be honest, no.
Just because it's individual. I mean yes, maybe they're gonna remember that way.
"But I'd rather be remembered as just having a championship, and obviously a really good team player."
(1/2) https://t.co/poxoia4Y3L
#2 Joel Embiid
Previous week's NBA MVP Power Ranking - 2nd (-)
Last Week: Games played - 3; Games won - 2; Games lost - 1
Overall: Games played - 61; Games won - 41; Games lost - 20
Last Week: PPG - 31.3, APG - 2.7, RPG - 11.7
Overall: PPG - 29.9, APG - 4.2, RPG - 11.4
Last Week: FG% - 52.3%, BPG - 2.3, SPG - 2.3
Overall: FG% - 48.9%, BPG - 1.5, SPG - 1.2.
Joel Embiid has a strong case to win the NBA MVP award, and the Philadelphia 76ers cannot afford to lose games down the stretch of the season.
They are currently fourth in the East, three games ahead of the fifth-place Bulls and only half a game behind the three teams ahead of them. If they lose more games and end up slipping out of the top 4, Embiid will go from frontrunner to out of the top five.
Embiid (soon-to-be MVP) from WAAAYYYYYY downtown 🤩 | @Wendys https://t.co/9aItMdC5oQ
#1 Giannis Antetokounmpo
Previous week's NBA MVP Power Ranking - 1st (-)
Last Week: Games played - 2; Games won - 1; Games lost - 1
Overall: Games played - 61; Games won - 40; Games lost - 21
Last Week: PPG - 27.5, APG - 4.5, RPG - 14.0
Overall: PPG - 29.7, APG - 5.8, RPG - 11.6
Last Week: FG% - 62.5%, 3P% - 33.3%, BPG - 3.5
Overall: FG% - 55.0%, 3P% - 30.0%, BPG - 1.4.
The Milwaukee Bucks are third in the East and only half a game behind from the top-seeded Boston Celtics.
Giannis Antetokounmpo has been averaging MVP-caliber numbers all year and is also a NBA DPOY candidate this season. Last week, he averaged nearly 30 a game while shooting 62% from the field and also registered 3.5 blocks per game.
This was supposed to be an MVP chat with the two-time MVP, but Giannis wasn't having it.
Q: "Are you focused on MVP at all?"
A: "Oh, hell no. I've done it. ...Who's in the race?"
Yes, he was being serious. More here, at @TheAthletic
theathletic.com/3198930/2022/0…
He is arguably the best two-way force in the league today. If the Bucks close the season as the first seed, the Greek Freak might win his third MVP trophy.