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#3 Nikola Jokic
Previous week’s NBA MVP Power Ranking - 4th (↑1)
Last Week: Games played - 4; Games won - 4; Games lost - 0
Overall: Games played - 13; Games won - 9; Games lost - 4
Last Week: PPG - 25.0, APG - 9.7, RPG - 14.3
Overall: PPG - 25.2, APG - 6.7, RPG - 13.7
Last Week: FG% - 58.5%, 3P% - 36%, SPG - 1.0
Overall: FG% - 60%, 3P% - 40%, SPG - 1.4.
Nikola Jokic is out for back-to-back NBA MVP awards this season. He is showing the league he can win without Jamal Murray, and has fared well thus far.
The Denver Nuggets are on a five-game win streak, and The Joker has averaged a triple double over the last week. He got suspended in one game, but the Nuggets still came out victorious. Jokic then dropped a 22-point triple double on his return, bagging 19 boards and ten dimes.
The Denver Nuggets are certainly not scary enough to make noise in the West, but Jokic has been carrying them day in and day out. He is tenth in the NBA in scoring and third in rebounding. Jokic is leading the NBA in PER, Offensive and Defensive Box +/-, win shares and defensive rating.
#2 Kevin Durant
Previous week’s NBA MVP Power Ranking - 1st (↓1)
Last Week: Games played - 4; Games won - 3; Games lost - 1
Overall: Games played - 14; Games won - 10; Games lost - 4
Last Week: PPG - 32.3, APG - 4.5, RPG - 7.8
Overall: PPG - 29.6, APG - 5.1, RPG - 8.4
Last Week: FG% - 62.9%, 3P% - 52.6%, FT% - 91.2%
Overall: FG% - 58.6%, 3P% - 42.4%, FT% - 84%.
Kevin Durant's NBA MVP case is tenuous because the media might not give him the votes by the end of the season, as he plays alongside two other All Stars.
The narrative is that he cannot be solely responsible for the team's wins because of the other star players. Many superstars have not won the award because of this reason, including Durant himself when he played alongside Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson in Golden State. Hence, as great as KD has been, he might not win the award this season as well.
However, his performances have been undeniable. A true cheat code on the court, Kevin Durant is perplexing defenders with his scoring ability. He is averaging an absurd 70%+ on mid-range shots.
Over the last four games, Durant has dropped 32.3 points a night on otherworldly shooting splits of 63/53/91. His most notable game this season was scoring 30 points on 92% shooting (11-12) against the Magic.
#1 Stephen Curry
Previous week's NBA MVP Power Ranking - 2nd (↑1)
Last Week: Games played - 4; Games won - 3; Games lost - 1
Overall: Games played - 13; Games won - 11; Games lost - 2
Last Week: PPG - 34.8, APG - 7.8, RPG - 5.5
Overall: PPG - 28.1, APG - 5.5, RPG - 6.2
Last Week: FT% - 93%, SPG - 2.3, 3P% - 41.4%
Overall: FT% - 95%, SPG - 1.7, 3P% - 38.7%.
It is becoming increasingly difficult to deny Stephen Curry's NBA MVP case. He is the second-highest scorer in the league with 28.1 points per game, and is doing so while facing double and triple teams on a nightly basis.
He is the engine that runs the Golden State Warriors' offense, and the team is holding the league's best 11-2 record right now. The Warriors are ranked first in a bevy of different categories, such as three-point shooting, fast-break points per game, assists rate, eFG% (effective field goal), TS% (true shooting), net rating, defensive rating, among others.
Stephen Curry also exploded for 50 points against Trae Young and the Hawks, which further solidified his NBA MVP case. Even at age 33, he continues to exceed expectations, and is still widely known as the show in basketball.
He also dropped 40 points against the Chicago Bulls with nine three-pointers, thereby establishing the Golden State Warriors as bonafide title contenders. The narrative before the game was that they were facing bottom-table teams, so defeating the 8-3 Bulls by 26 points was a huge statement.
Curry outscored every player last week, as expected, to receive the Western Conference Player of the Week award.
Guess the Bulls players in this quiz and it's not going to be easy!
