Former NOLA coach Stan Van Gundy picks The Joker, LeBron James, KD, The Greek Freak, and Joel Embiid as his current top 5 picks to win the 2022 MVP honors.
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The 2021-2022 NBA season is as entertaining as we expected it to be. And the MVP race can’t be any closer than it already is. Several players around the league have been playing at an All-Star and All-NBA level, but only a few of them are currently in the conversation to win the Maurice Podoloff Trophy.
Several many former legends, analysts, coaches, and players around the league have been giving their two cents on their favorite for the prestigious honor. Former NBA coach Stan Van Gundy too decided to join in on this conversation and list down his top 5 picks for the MVP trophy.
SVG took it to his Twitter and mentioned his top 5 players, in order – Nikola Jokic, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Joel Embiid.
My top 5 in the MVP race, at mid-season, in order, Jokic, James, Durant, Antetokuonmpo, Embiid. Lot of good candidates this year, more than just these 5.
— Stan Van Gundy (@realStanVG) January 14, 2022
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Stan Van Gundy reveals why he selected LeBron James, Giannis, and the others over the likes of Stephen Curry and DeMar DeRozan, among others
Leaving out some big names like Stephen Curry, DeMar DeRozan, Ja Morant, among others, came as a shock to many. However, Gundy took out the time to give his justifications for specific players’ inclusion and exclusion from the list.
Yup. Steph has been great despite having the worst shooting year of his career. But he hasn’t been as good as James and Currybhas had a lot more help (Green and Wiggins should be All-Stars and Poole has had a very good season).
— Stan Van Gundy (@realStanVG) January 14, 2022
Jokic on the court — Nuggets perform like the best team in the league. Jokic off the court they perform like the worst. No one is carrying a bigger load. Morant is GREAT. And the Grizzlies are 11-2 when Morant is out (19-12 with him).
— Stan Van Gundy (@realStanVG) January 14, 2022
Giannis has also had Jrue Holiday (who should be an All-Star), Middleton who has been an All-Star and Portis having a great year. Jokic is playing without his 2nd and 3rd leading scorer all year and still has Denver above .500. James will be the only Laker All-Star.
— Stan Van Gundy (@realStanVG) January 14, 2022
That’s crazy. But DeRozan has been great, but so has LaVine (even sure which one is the Bulls’ MVP). And Morant is GREAT. But the Grizzlies have gone 11-2 without him (19-12 with him).
— Stan Van Gundy (@realStanVG) January 14, 2022
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According to the recent-most NBA MVP ladder, the top 5 players are – Giannis, Jokic, KD, JoJo, and DeMar. This season, we definitely are witnessing some incredible individual basketball by some of the game’s greatest.
