Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid, and Giannis Antetokounmpo are making this year’s MVP race the closest in recent time, but Dr. J has his favorite.
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There was a 21-year gap between Nikola Jokic winning the 2021 MVP to the last time another Center won the Most Valuable Player award in the NBA. Although there were some Power Forwards who did, big men playing at 5 could not win it since Shaquille O’Neal did at the turn of the century.
And now there are three big men leading the race for the 2022 MVP – Joel Embiid, Nikola Jokic, and Giannis Antetokounmpo. Jokic and Antetokounmpo would each set a new single-season PER (Player Efficiency Rating) record, breaking the latter’s mark from 2019-20, while Embiid ranks 16th.
No other season in league history has had more than one player in the top 20, making it clearly the closest MVP race in a long time, arguably of all time. While the regular season is approaching the halt before the Playoffs start, there are 4-5 games left for each of them to prove who is the best.
To put Jokic’s 2021-22 stats in context, consider this:
— Tommy Beer (@TommyBeer) March 29, 2022
But the 1981 MVP has already decided who his MVP is. The 11-time NBA All-Star believes The Joker deserves this year’s Best award.
Nikola Jokic is the much deserving MVP over Joel Embiid and Giannis Antetokounmpo believes Dr. J
Julius Erving on a recent appearance on The Rich Eisen Show declared who he believes is more deserving of the Most Valuable Player award for 2022.
Dr. J’s take might be as clear-headed as he himself was during his high-flying playing days, but this year’s competition is not. Very much like the contention for Playoffs has been much better than it has ever been, the MVP race has been nothing short.
In their last few games, all the top-3 guys in the race went berserk and gave fans a lot more to think about. In the Sixers vs Bucks game, Giannis scored 40 points on 16-for-24 shooting, plus added a game-saving block on Embiid, in a win over the 76ers, then scored 44 points on 14-for-21 shooting, plus added the game-winning free throws, in an overtime win over the Nets on national TV.
While Embiid responded to Jokic’s 38-point, 18-rebound masterpiece against the Lakers on Sunday with a 44-point, 17-rebound effort of his own that night against Cleveland.
All of their performance is peaking just at the right time before the Playoffs, which won’t just make the race enthralling but also the post-season much more exciting.
