The Top 5 Best MVP Candidates for the 2022-23 Season

The NBA is full of talented players, but only 1 can win the MVP award at the end of the year. Here are 5 players that can legitimately make that claim.

Ayden Whyte

1. Giannis Antetokounmpo

Giannis is agreed upon by most NBA fans and media to be the best player in all of basketball. They wouldn't be wrong, the 2021-22 NBA season was likely one of his best seasons ever. He averaged a career-high 29.9 points per game on 55.3% from the field. It's easy to say that all Giannis can do is run and dunk, but if it was that easy, then why doesn't everyone do it? The casual NBA viewer doesn't see the finesse he's growing to play with, and I think it comes from him growing as an NBA player. He realizes he can't be an athletic freak of nature for his whole career and he has begun to develop more of a post-game. He utilizes more pump-fakes, spin moves, and backdowns to get points efficiently. If he can continue to do everything he does defensively and pair it with his new-found offensive maturity, then I think he can definitely expand on last season's greatness, potentially winning another MVP. 

2. Nikola Jokic

Nikola Jokic has recently entered his prime. A polarizing player, he was drafted by the Denver Nuggets with the 41st pick of the 2014 NBA draft. He’s won the last 2 MVP awards and while that is great for him and his resume, it works against his chances of winning the next. This is because of an effect known as "Voter Fatigue" where the people responsible for voting for the MVP tend not to vote for an MVP more than 3 consecutive times. However, I don't see Jokic becoming a victim of this. His game continues to improve and with the return of Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr, the Nuggets are going to be better than ever before, only helping his MVP case.

3. Luka Doncic

Luka is undoubtedly going to be top 3 in the MVP race this season. The 23-year-old from Serbia is already one of the top 5 best players in the entire league. He has all the stats, this season he's projected to average 29.2 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 8.9 assists per 36 minutes. For a player so young, to be so talented, he'll definitely catch the eyes of the voters. The only thing holding him back is team success. Voters love MVP candidates on good teams, and while Luka continues to improve, I'm not convinced the Dallas Mavericks have improved around him. This past offseason they've lost Jalen Brunson who was a great pairing alongside Luka and served a big role in alleviating some of the pressure at the guard position. While they've also acquired Christian Wood who has been vocally upset with his anticipated role as a 6th man. If they can work out these internal problems, I see Luka putting up an excellent MVP case. 

4. Joel Embiid

Joel Embiid is a no-brainer candidate for MVP if he can sustain his dominance. Last season he averaged 30.6 points, 11.7 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks and was second place in MVP voting. He doesn't have to worry about team success because being paired with James Harden and Tyrese Maxey, the 76ers will make the playoffs without a doubt. The issue facing Joel is that he tends to lose too much time to injuries every single season. For his entire career, Joel Embiid has never played more than 70 games in a season, while Jokic has never played less than 70. The old adage, the best ability is availability is very true in the NBA and so if he can be available, then he should be a lock for MVP. 

5. Ja Morant

Another exciting player on a young and successful team. Last season Ja was 6th on the final MVP ladder, and it's not too aberrant to assume he takes another leap this year. He plays an exciting game that voters love, he's a walking highlight reel. The Grizzlies were excellent as well and one big perk of having a young team core with playoff experience is that assuming they've progressed, (which they almost always do) they won't see regression for at least 5-6 seasons. While the competition is very fierce, I wouldn't entirely count Ja out to be a "dark horse" MVP winner.

Ultimately there's no sure-fire way to estimate how the season is going to pan out, but it can be assumed that if they can live up to expectations, one of these top 5 guys most definitely will win.