The race for the prize MVPthe most prestigious individual award given by the NBA during his normal phase, it is one of the biggest and hardest battles to win. Not only do you have to perform at an excellent level and be consistent, you also have to be in a team that occupies relevant positions.
With one month of activity in the 2022-2023 season, the race for the MVP it is as open as the rest of the competition. It is not yet very clear who the applicants are and who should think about the draft soon. The same goes for this award.
With all this in mind, his writing Sports news He picked his five favorites to be MVP come December. The grading system is very simple: 1st gets 5 points. the 2nd, 4; and so on.
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#5 – Kevin Durant
- December Stats: 28.3 points, 7.5 rebounds and 5.3 assists
The Brooklyn Nets just needed to hit the switch on a collective and defensive level so that the performances of the Kevin Durant stop forgetting. The star emerged as a legitimate contender for the award last December thanks to the momentum the New Yorkers have experienced, posting their best winning streak since 2006.
KD was one of 7 players who can average more than 28 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists over the last month, except he has added the most wins along with teammate Kyrie Irving, also on the list.
#4 – Giannis Antetokounmpo
- December Stats: 33.1 points, 12.3 rebounds and 4.7 assists
in his time John Antetokounmpo started as a rocket. The Greek looked unstoppable for another year and everyone believed he would confirm himself as the big MVP candidate. However, the passing of the weeks has cooled his candidacy and caused him to lose some power among voters.
The Bucks star, however, continues at a very high level, all supported by an increase in his scoring volume compared to other times. Giannis has signed his best month in this category since last March (33.9). The problem? Your rate of success in shots of the two it was relevant lowscoring at 56.9% despite the effort 18.8 on average in December. His three-point percentage has also dropped (28.6%) and in free throws he remains in line (68.9%).
In such a tight and even match anything is possible and it is possible that Antetokounmpo will advance this January that begins.
#3 – Jayson Tatum
- December Stats: 30.1 points, 8.7 rebounds and 3.3 assists
As has happened with Giannis, so has the candidacy of Jason Tatum deflated to some extent in recent weeks. The thing about the Celtics star is that he didn’t have as much to do with his performance as the other two major MVP contenders. Doncic and Jokic.
Yes, it’s true that the green forward had a brief stretch in which his numbers dipped in early December, but in the final stretch he picked them up again with 41 points against the Pacers, 30 in the win over the Wolves, 41 against the Bucks and 38 against of the Rockets, all of them in a row.
What Tatum is doing is remarkable. The star is on his way to sign it Best scoring season in Celtics history breaking the 30 goal barrier that no one has managed to break before. All the more reason to occupy such a high position in this ranking.
#2 – Luka Doncic
- December Stats: 35.1 points, 8.5 rebounds and 9.3 assists
The level of Luka Doncic during this season he was so high that he had even made people forget how mediocre the Mavericks were. His performance was MVP-caliber, but he lacked a bit of support from his team to make his candidacy truly solid.
Months after starting classes, the Slovenian is finally ready to fight for the prize.
There are no shortage of reasons. And it is that in recent weeks he has hit the table to establish himself as a great candidate to continue the European streak as MVP winners.
your month December was amazing. Doncic became the Mavs player of the year in December with most 50 point gamesthe first in history to succeed triple-double of 60 points and 20 rebounds and the eighth to get 3 out of 5 possible matches with 50 points or more.
The former from Madrid has arrived and now it remains to be seen if he will stay in Dallas.
#1 – Nikola Jokic
- December Stats: 29.2 points, 12.2 rebounds and 10.1 assists
Month by month, the possibility that Nikola Jokic will join Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain and Larry Bird as the only players with three consecutive MVPs seems more likely. The Sobor native cemented his place in these rankings with a breakout December, managing to average a triple-double on 60.4% field goal and 35% three-point efficiency while averaging just 3.8 turnovers.
In fact, according to ESPN statisticsthe Serb is the second player in history to average a triple-double with a 60% hit in a calendar month, thereby joining Wilt Chamberlain in February and March 1968.
Its effect Nikola Jokic is such that in the blink of an eye he has led the Denver Nuggets to close 2022 as leaders of the Western Conference. Not only that, but thanks to their performance, the Colorado team looks to be the heavy favorite on that side of the field.
If he can get the Nuggets to lead the West the rest of the season, there’s no doubt Joker will get his third in a row.
votes and positions
seats
| pos. | Player | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nikola Jokic | 19 |
| 2 | Luka Doncic | 16 |
| 3 | Jason Tatum | 10 |
| 4 | John Antetokounmpo | 8 |
| 5 | Kevin Durant | 6 |
Others who received votes: Joel Embiid, 1
voting
| pos. | Augustine Aboy (@AboyAgustin) | Sergio Rabinal (@S_Rabinal) | Juan Esteves (@JuanEstevez90) | Leandro Fernandez (@FernandezLea) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nikola Jokic | Luka Doncic | Nikola Jokic | Nikola Jokic |
| 2 | Luka Doncic | Nikola Jokic | Kevin Durant | Luka Doncic |
| 3 | Jason Tatum | Jason Tatum | Luka Doncic | John Antetokounmpo |
| 4 | John Antetokounmpo | John Antetokounmpo | Jason Tatum | Jason Tatum |
| 5 | Joel Embiid | Kevin Durant | John Antetokounmpo | Kevin Durant |
The views expressed here do not necessarily represent those of the NBA or its organizations.
