Who Could Be This Year’s NBA Regular Season MVP?

This prestigious NBA award honors the regular season’s most valuable athlete

There’s no doubt that this is an exciting time of year for NBA fans worldwide. As the regular season heats up, it becomes clearer which franchises from the Western and Eastern conferences are in a good position to make the playoffs in early April. Everything leads up to the big game, the Finals Championship series, which will celebrate its 75^th year in circulation this June.

The winners of this legendary game receive the two foot tall Larry O’ Brian Trophy manufactured by Tiffany and Co. However, in addition to this, there is another prestigious award that is handed out at the close of the season as well. This is none other than the NBA MVP award, honoring the year’s most valuable player based on their performance. Decided upon by both a voting panel and fans, the announcement of the MVP title is highly anticipated across the basketball world. In this article, we take a look at four players who are realistic potential recipients for the award in 2022.

Joel Embiid

Joel Embiid, the Philadelphia 76ers star who was drafted back in 2014, has been included in MVP conversations for many seasons running, since the start of his career. In fact, last year the power forward came up second in MVP voting behind big man Nikola Jović. But despite being one of the most talented players in the league and garnering major attention, Embiid has yet to win an award.

This year may change that, as the 76ers powerhouse is a top contender according to expert NBA MVP odds for the current season. So, what makes the player deserving of this title? Well, standing at 7 ft tall with a 7.5 ft reach, Embiid has the ideal build for a basketball athlete, with a hefty amount of muscle build to boast as well. Additionally, he’s averaged a whopping 29.3 points this season, contributing his masterful shooting skills on the court and allowing the 76ers to climb the Eastern leaderboard. There’s still plenty of time before we know for sure, but Embiid has all the potential in the world to be a future MVP.

Nikola Jović

Unlike Embiid, Nikola Jović is no stranger to the NBA MVP award. Last year, the superstar became the first ever Denver Nuggets member to secure the award, also making history as the league’s lowest drafted player to be named MVP. The ‘Joker’, as he is known by fans and basketball staff across the league, is in a good position yet again to win an MVP back-to-back. And there are many reasons why he could repeat last year’s success.

From the fact that he is a dominant high-scoring leader on the Nuggets team, to his consistent improvement on the defensive side of things, he’s simply got it all. Jović has proven he is a versatile, skilled asset who can succeed no matter where he finds himself on the court. For example, in a mid-January game against the Clippers, Jović scored an incredible 49 points in addition to 10 assists. There’s a reason why he’s the talk of the town on so many occasions.

Last year, Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jović took home the award for the first time

Giannis Antetokounmpo

Greek Freak Giannis Antetokounmpo became the prize of the league last season when he helped lead the Milwaukee Bucks to win the 2021 NBA Finals series, breaking a dry streak of 51 years! During the course of the series, stats show that Giannis ended with a total of 50 points scored and 14 rebounds recorded. It’s no surprise, then, that he was the recipient of a different prestigious award, one that honors the best player from the Finals – the Finals MVP award.

But Antetokounmpo hasn’t stopped his stride since then, and now has his sights set on the regular season MVP award. The Bucks are currently third in the East, thanks to the Greek Freak’s efforts, as he is averaging nearly 30 points per game this season. In fact, in a game against the Lakers in November, he recorded 47. It’s clear that Giannis is an unstoppable scorer, and that will get him far in the race for MVP.