“LeBron James is the frontrunner”: Magic Johnson gives us his top 5 NBA MVP candidates, giving Lakers star the edge

Magic Johnson lists out the candidates he believes are in the running for winning MVP this season, includes LeBron James at the top.

Speculation of who’s going to snag the regular season MVP award starts well before the actual season commences. Prior to the 2020-21 NBA campaign, Luka Doncic was given the best odds to claim his first ever MVP, making him the youngest to ever do so.

However, after a slow start from the Mavericks, it seems as though Magic Johnson doesn’t see Doncic as a top 5 MVP candidate.

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The Lakers legend let everybody on Twitter know who he believes should be honored with an MVP at the end of this regular season. It was of course topped off with the reigning NBA Finals MVP, LeBron James.

Magic Johnson includes LeBron James, Joel Embiid and Nikola Jokic in his top 5 MVP candidates list

The 5x champion took to Twitter to list out the 5 players he thinks deserve to be in the running for MVP. LeBron James would be an obvious lock for being an MVP candidate. The ‘King’ is leading the Lakers to get the number seed out West all while averaging 24, 7, and 7. He is the frontrunner for many people, including Johnson who put him at the top of the list.

Kevin Durant somehow looks just as good, if not better, after missing 18 months due to an Achilles tear. He the leading scorer on the Brooklyn Nets with 31.3 points per game while shooting 53% from the field.

Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid have both showed up and showed out for the Nuggets and Sixers respectively. They are both leading their teams in scoring while also racking up wins. The former is averaging a triple double on the season while the latter has been dropping 30+ points almost every single night.

LeBron James, Joel Embiid, Kevin Durant, Nikola Jokić and Jaylen Brown are the top five MVP candidates right now.

— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) January 21, 2021

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Magic’s last choice was out of the left field as he included Jaylen Brown in his list. Brown has kept the Celtics afloat in Jayson Tatum’s absence. They held the number one seed in the East for a while. They are currently 2^nd behind Embiid’s squad.

There are many other players who can be argued into this list such as Paul George, Steph Curry, and even Luka.

About the author

Samir Mehdi

Samir Mehdi is a senior strategist for the NBA division at The Sportsrush. Ever since he was 13 years old, he’s been obsessed with the game of basketball. From watching Kobe Bryant’s highlights on YouTube to now, analyzing and breaking down every single game on League Pass, Samir’s passion for the game is unwavering. He's a complete basketball junkie who not only breaks down current games but also keenly watches ones from the 60s’ and 70s’ while also reading comprehensive books on the history of the league. Samir’s life revolves around basketball and he hopes that shows in his work. Aside from work, he loves to spend time in the gym and with his friends at social gatherings.

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