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The 2018-19 season of the NBA has finished a quarter of its matches for the regular season and yet the league has had a lot of different teams that have taken have had varied performances.
The Western Conference has been a mess this year, with no team having a clear lead. The Eastern Conference has been a clearer playing field, where the Toronto Raptors seem to have become the clear favorites to win the Conference title and the Milwaukee Bucks, Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics giving chase.
The All-Star game this season is in Charlotte at the Spectrum Center. The NBA had pivoted to a new format last season, where the fans will decide the team captains, instead of the traditional East against West All-Star matchup.
These captains will have a draft among the players chosen as All-Stars and make up the teams. Last year, the format was a resounding success as Team LeBron beat Team Curry in a game which went to the last possession and was played with ferocious intensity.
This season, after a lot of complaining and backlash from the community, the NBA commissioner had a discussion with the players and decided to televise the draft as well, making it even more exciting for the fans.
Dark Horses for the All-Star MVP
- Russell Westbrook (Oklahoma City Thunder)
- Kevin Durant (Golden State Warriors)
- Kyrie Irving (Boston Celtics)
- Joel Embiid (Philadelphia 76ers)
- Damian Lillard (Portland Trail Blazers)
Without further ado, let's look at the top 5 All-Star MVP candidates.
#5 Anthony Davis (New Orleans Pelicans)
Davis has been a regular season MVP in the making for quite a few years now. He has averaged a mammoth 27 points per game with almost 12 rebounds as well. His ability to be a playmaker is also very exciting and his five assists per game average also show that.
In the last All Star game, Davis played for Team LeBron and did not get as many minutes as the 2017 game, where he had a 52 point explosion and won the MVP. He played for only 16 minutes, scoring 12 points and had only 2 rebounds and 1 assist. If he manages to get a lot of minutes this time around, he has a really good chance to take the All Star MVP title again.
#4 James Harden (Houston Rockets)
James Harden had played for Team Curry in a new format for the 2018 All Star game. Harden this season seems to be a lock for the All-Star game for 2019. He has had an amazing start to the new season, averaging 30 points per game and is 2nd on the league's top scorers per game list behind Curry by 0.1 points per game. Curry has played 6 games lesser than Harden though and that makes it somewhat even. Still, Harden is doing really well for himself.
In the All-Star game last season, Harden played a total of 27 minutes for Team Curry, but was not able to find his shot at all. He hoisted 19 shots but was able to land only 5 of them, scoring a measly 12 points.
He was able to help in other ways, dishing out 8 assists and grabbing 7 rebounds as well. He also managed a steal and a block. If he manages to get a rhythm going this time, he will be able to outscore any player on the court and would be an outsider for the All-Star MVP award.
#3 LeBron James (Los Angeles Lakers)
LeBron James has finally moved on from his 2nd stint in Cleveland Cavaliers and joined the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2018-19 NBA season. This has not stopped him from having an amazing season this time. Surrounded by better players than last year, LeBron has improved his scoring and is pushing his limits already. He seems to be a lock as every year he has been for the All-Star Game in 2019.
In the last All-Star game, LeBron James was the team captain against Steph Curry of the Golden State Warriors. He ended up drafting his team and led them to a 148-145 victory. He played a game-high 31 minutes, scoring a team high 29 points, along with 10 rebounds and 8 assists, putting forth an MVP worthy performance and deservedly winning it too.
With how he has begun his new season, there are chances he comes into the All-Star game and takes the MVP again this season. He is one of the favorites for it.
#2 Steph Curry (Golden State Warriors)
Curry has begun the season in top form for the Golden State Warriors. He has had a few injury concerns in the first 28 games, but has returned strongly and is currently leading the way in the scoring charts for the 2018-19 season, averaging 30.1 points per game, just ahead of the Rockets' James Harden.
He also has almost six assists and five rebounds per game, shooting at an insane 51% from the field, 50% from beyond the arc and 94% from the free throw line. These are absolutely insane numbers and these are easily vaulting him into the regular season MVP conversations.
Last year in the 2018 All-Star game, a new format was introduced in which team captains were chosen by the fans and Steph was a captain against LeBron. Steph did not have that big of a game for his team, he just could not seem to find his shot. He scored just 11 points, on some really bad 29% shooting and also had 6 turnovers. He managed to chip in with 5 rebounds, 6 assists and 1 steal too. This season though, with the form that Curry seems to be in, he is a definite frontrunner for the All-Star MVP if he is able to score at such a high level.
#1 Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks)
Giannis Antetokounmpo is probably the front-runner for the regular season MVP title as well as the All-Star MVP title. He is playing at a ridiculous level at the moment, the Greek Freak (as he is fondly called) does not seem like there are any brakes to his dominant games.
He is averaging a huge 26.5 points per game this season, to go with 13.3 rebounds and 6 assists per game too. He is also an elite defender due to his freakish size and is averaging atleast 1.5 steals and blocks per game too.
Last season, Giannis was a member of Team Curry and had started the game in the 5. But he saw the floor for only 26 minutes, scoring 16 points and grabbing 7 rebounds along with 2 assists as well. He has the potential to probably be the biggest name on the court if he plays the All-Star game with the same intensity as the regular season game and knowing Giannis, he might want to do the double this season, with the form that he is in and the mindset that he is playing with.
Guess the Lakers players!
