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Injuries have shaken up the 2022-2023 NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) race.
Philadelphia 76ers superstar center Joel Embiid went down with a foot sprain last week, which sees him exit the rankings. Meanwhile, some old names have reentered this week’s rankings following some strong weeks from both themselves and their respective teams.
On that note, here’s the latest edition of this season's Most Valuable Player Power Rankings by Sportskeeda.
#5 Devin Booker | Phoenix Suns
Previous week’s Most Valuable Player Power Ranking: N/A (-)
Last Week: Games played - 3, Games won - 2, Games lost - 1
Overall: Games played - 17, Games won - 11, Games lost - 6
Last Week: PPG - 31.3, RPG - 5.7, APG - 6.0, SPG - 0.3, BPG - 0.0
Overall: PPG - 27.4, RPG - 4.8, APG - 5.8, SPG - 0.9, BPG - 0.5
Last Week: FG% - 45.8%, 3PT% - 39.1%, FT% - 100.0%
Overall: FG% - 47.3%, 3PT% - 38.0%, FT% - 89.6%.
All-Star shooting guard Devin Booker’s Phoenix Suns (11-6) have reclaimed the top spot in the Western Conference following their last two wins. This comes despite Booker’s co-star Chris Paul missing the last seven games for Phoenix with a heel injury.
Booker scored 20 or more points in all three games for the Suns last week. Their lone loss came by just one point against the Utah Jazz. In that game, Booker scored a season-high 49 points to go along with eight rebounds and 10 assists.
#4 Luka Doncic | Dallas Mavericks
Previous week’s Most Valuable Player Power Ranking: 3rd (↓1)
Last Week: Games played - 3, Games won - 1, Games lost - 2
Overall: Games played - 16, Games won - 9, Games lost - 7
Last Week: PPG - 32.3, RPG - 9.7, APG - 9.3, SPG - 0.7, BPG - 0.0
Overall: PPG - 34.0, RPG - 9.0, APG - 8.1, SPG - 1.8, BPG - 0.5
Last Week: FG% - 53.0%, 3PT% - 30.4%, FT% - 66.7%
Overall: FG% - 50.3%, 3PT% - 29.4%, FT% - 75.0%.
Dallas Mavericks superstar guard Luka Doncic continues to put up monster numbers for his team.
Last week, Doncic had a 33-point triple-double against the Denver Nuggets as well as a 42-point near triple-double against the Boston Celtics. "Luka Magic" is still the leading scorer in the entire NBA this season, averaging 34.0 points per game.
However, with Dallas going 1-2 last week, they now sit at 9-8 and just 10th in the Western Conference. Doncic’s MVP hopes will be in danger if the Mavs don’t start winning more games soon.
#3 Donovan Mitchell | Cleveland Cavaliers
Previous week’s Most Valuable Player Power Ranking: N/A (-)
Last Week: Games played - 4, Games won - 4, Games lost - 0
Overall: Games played - 16, Games won - 11, Games lost - 5
Last Week: PPG - 27.5, RPG - 3.3, APG - 5.3, SPG - 2.0, BPG - 0.0
Overall: PPG - 30.1, RPG - 4.2, APG - 5.7, SPG - 1.6, BPG - 0.4
Last Week: FG% - 51.4%, 3PT% - 41.2%, FT% - 83.3%
Overall: FG% - 50.5%, 3PT% - 42.3%, FT% - 87.2%.
Cleveland Cavaliers All-Star shooting guard Donovan Mitchell led his team to a perfect 4-0 week. Cleveland now sits at 12-6 and third in the Eastern Conference, just half a game behind the Milwaukee Bucks.
Mitchell scored 30 or more points in two of the Cavs' four games last week. As a result, he is still averaging just over 30 points (30.1 PPG) on close to a 50/40/90 shooting split (50.5/42.3/87.2) this season.
#2 Giannis Antetokounmpo | Milwaukee Bucks
Previous week’s Most Valuable Player Power Ranking: 2nd (-)
Last Week: Games played - 3, Games won - 1, Games lost - 2
Overall: Games played - 14, Games won - 10, Games lost - 4
Last Week: PPG - 32.7, RPG - 10.7, APG - 5.7, SPG - 1.0, BPG - 0.3
Overall: PPG - 30.5, RPG - 11.6, APG - 5.5, SPG - 1.0, BPG - 1.0
Last Week: FG% - 56.2%, 3PT% - 12.5%, FT% - 41.7%
Overall: FG% - 52.3%, 3PT% - 20.9%, FT% - 58.0%.
Milwaukee Bucks superstar forward Giannis Antetokounmpo struggled mightily at the free-throw line last week, shooting just 41.7%. However, he was still pretty dominant overall as he had two games with 36 or more points.
Despite the Bucks going 1-2 last week, Antetokounmpo has still led Milwaukee to the second-best record in the NBA at 12-5. This comes with co-star Khris Middleton yet to play a single game as he recovers from wrist surgery.
#1 Jayson Tatum | Boston Celtics
Previous week’s Most Valuable Player Power Ranking: 1st (-)
Last Week: Games played - 3, Games won - 2, Games lost - 1
Overall: Games played - 18, Games won - 14, Games lost - 4
Last Week: PPG - 28.0, RPG - 10.3, APG - 7.3, SPG - 0.0, BPG - 0.7
Overall: PPG - 30.6, RPG - 7.9, APG - 4.7, SPG - 0.8, BPG - 1.3
Last Week: FG% - 42.6%, 3PT% - 29.6%, FT% - 85.7%
Overall: FG% - 47.2%, 3PT% - 35.3%, FT% - 86.8%.
Boston Celtics All-Star forward Jayson Tatum continues to be the best player on the best team in the NBA (14-4). The Celtics' nine-game winning streak ended against the Chicago Bulls last week, but they have still won 10 of their last 11 games.
Tatum finished with two double-doubles last week, including a 37-point effort against the Dallas Mavericks. He is the early leader in the race for the 2022-23 Most Valuable Player award.
For last week's Most Valuable Player rankings, click here.
Guess the Lakers players!
