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The NBA is filled with hyper-competitive superstars who are all trying to be better than the rest of the league. One of the most exciting awards in the NBA, which measures which superstar is truly the best, is the regular-season MVP award. At the moment, there are a lot of players around the league who are capable of having an MVP-caliber season.
The list of potential MVP players for the upcoming 2023-24 season is a long one. It features players like Giannis Antetokounmpo, Joel Embiid, Devin Booker, Luka Doncic, Jayson Tatum, Nikola Jokic, Donovan Mitchell, Anthony Edwards, Ja Morant, Anthony Davis and more.
However, the MVP award can only be won by one player. Today, we will look at the top five players who can become the MVPs of the NBA from this long list of players.
5) Anthony Edwards
Anthony Edwards is coming off one of his best seasons after averaging 24.6 points per game for the Minnesota Timberwolves. The former first pick's game will see a lot of further development given that he is just 21 years old. Last season, Edwards had three 40-point outbursts and nine 30-point games to establish himself as a prolific scorer.
Edwards might still be a little bit too young to go for the MVP award. However, with his speed and bounce, you cannot put it past him. He is an astounding athlete and could have one of those historic years next season. Fans should be especially excited after Edwards changed his jersey number with claims that he will be a whole different player.
4) Jayson Tatum
Jayson Tatum has become a superstar in the league over the past few years. He is stellar on both ends of the floor and is one of the best players in the league at the moment. If Tatum can keep up his 30.1 points per game average from last season and add just a little bit more to his game in terms of controlling the game, he will make a strong case for the MVP award.
Jayson Tatum would've been higher on the list, but there are a couple of things working against him. Firstly, Tatum has already lost in the NBA Finals and could not come out on top in a historic Game 7 against the Miami Heat in the Conference finals last season.
While the MVP award is a regular-season accomplishment and does not concern the playoffs, Tatum's lack of ability to rise to the occasion will hold some real estate in the minds of the MVP award voters.
Secondly, Tatum has a superstar teammate in Jaylen Brown who recently signed the biggest contract in NBA history worth a staggering $304 million. Even if Tatum is exceptional during the season, it won't stop the critics from assigning a large part of the credit for the Celtics' success to Brown. Thus, it could impact Tatum's MVP odds.
3) Luka Doncic
Luka Doncic has flirted with the MVP award over the past three seasons. He has already shown the league that age is just a number and his last season's averages of 32.4 points, 8.6 rebounds and 8.0 assists per game are MVP-caliber numbers.
For Luka Doncic, team success might play a bigger role in winning the MVP than his individual numbers. Despite his great averages, the Dallas Mavericks did not even make the play-in tournament. However, if the Mavericks were a top seed with Doncic averaging the same numbers, he could've easily bagged the MVP award. That said, Doncic is one of the most likely MVP candidates for next season.
2) Devin Booker
Devin Booker was well on his way to cementing himself as one of the best players in basketball, if not the best, when the Phoenix Suns had a 2-0 lead in the 2021 NBA Finals against the Giannis Antetokounmpo-led Milwaukee Bucks. However, the Suns lost the next four games and instead of Booker, it was Antetokounmpo who lifted the prestigious NBA trophy.
That said, Booker is coming off his statistically best season after averaging 27.8 points, 4.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game on 49.4% shooting. In the playoffs, he turned this up a notch and averaged a stunning 33.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, 7.2 assists, 2.8 3s and 1.7 steals per game.
If Booker is able to sustain this level of play and be in the running for the scoring title, he might be able to capture the elusive MVP award. He is probably one championship and one MVP away from going down in NBA history as an all-time great player.
1) Former NBA Champion Anthony Davis
The most unlikely player on this list and especially at the top position is Anthony Davis. However, most people would agree that the same isn't true if you simply remove injuries from the equations.
When healthy and on the floor, Davis is easily a top-five talent in the league. Over the past seasons, we have even seen him completely demolish players like Embiid and Antetokounmpo in head-to-head matchups. For Lakers fans, there is a lot to be hopeful for, as Davis finished the season with a good stretch of healthy basketball which helped his team reach the NBA Western Conference finals.
Davis was also seen putting in work this offseason with boxing workouts. It is possible that Anthony Davis finally takes the torch from an aging LeBron James and wins his first NBA regular-season MVP award.
