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Aside from having a separate championship from the league title, the NBA In-Season Tournament also has its own Most Valuable Player award.
LeBron James is among the contenders. According to the league, the tournament MVP “will be based on the players’ performance in both Group Play and the Knockout Rounds.”
That means, winning matters a lot if you want to be the NBA In-Season Tournament MVP. At the moment, five players, including James, have been standing out in the tournament, and here they are.
LeBron James, other NBA In-Season Tournament MVP contenders
1) Tyrese Haliburton
Tyrese Haliburton could be in for a grand 2023. Earlier in the year, he was named to his first All-Star appearance, and during the offseason, he put up an explosion in the FIBA Basketball World Cup.
Haliburton could end the year, though, with the NBA In-Season Tournament MVP.
During the Indiana Pacers' two games in East Group A, Haliburton averaged 25.5 points on 50 percent field goals, 4.5 rebounds, 14.0 assists, and 2.0 steals per game.
2) Domantas Sabonis
Not far behind Tyrese Haliburton, though, is the Sacramento Kings' Domantas Sabonis. Sabonis averages 22.0 points on 57.1 percent shooting, 13.5 rebounds, 10.0 assists and 1.5 blocks per night.
The Sacramento Kings are tied with the Minnesota Timberwolves for the top spot in West Group C at 2-0, with a Friday night showdown to determine who stays at number one in their group.
3) LeBron James
And then there's LeBron James, whose stellar stint helped the LA Lakers end their group stage assignments 4-0 in West Group A.
Before the Lakers' game against the Utah Jazz, LeBron James was averaging 27.7 points on 60 percent field goals, 8.3 rebounds, 7.0 assists and 1.3 steals per game.
The Lakers, though, blew out the Jazz on national television a bit too early that LeBron James sat out the fourth quarter.
He only ended up with 17 points, seven rebounds and nine assists, but it might not dampen his tournament MVP credentials a bit.
4) Karl-Anthony Towns
Karl-Anthony Towns is the top scorer among top five projected NBA In-Season Tournament MVP contenders with 31.0 points per game.
The Minnesota Timberwolves superstar also norms 11.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.0 steals per contest. Like the Kings, the Timberwolves are also 2-0 in West Group C.
Their Friday night game would likely determine who wins the group with one game to spare -- and who among Towns and Sabonis could take a fall in the MVP race.
5) Nikola Jokic
Nikola Jokic's numbers in the NBA In-Season Tournament should be deserving of the number one spot in the early tournament MVP race.
He averages 30.3 points on 54.2 percent field goals and 91.7 percent free throws, 15.3 rebounds and 12.0 assists per game.
However, Nikola Jokic fell to fifth spot following the Denver Nuggets' loss to the New Orleans Pelicans, which could put their bid to make the knockouts in peril.
The Denver Nuggets must beat the Houston Rockets to still have a shot at advancing in the NBA In-Season Tournament.
