For ten years now, Basket USA has offered you its Top 5 candidates for the “Most Valuable Player” trophy (MVP)”. And with less than a week to go from the end of the regular season, for what is (already) our final weekly point of the campaign, the time has come to discuss the various confrontations between the best players of this fiscal year 2021/ 22.
To do this, we have decided to keep only the clashes between those who, in our opinion, are best placed to win the prestigious Maurice Podoloff statuette. In other words, in this order: Joel Embiid, Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Devin Booker, Luka Doncic, Jayson Tatum, DeMar DeRozan and Ja Morant.
No Kevin Durant or LeBron James, therefore, far from guaranteed to play in the playoffs with the Nets and the Lakers. Ditto for Stephen Curry or Chris Paul, out of the race due to their respective injuries, while the Warriors and the Suns are nevertheless installed in the Top 3 of the West.
In addition, only the matches where the two candidates for the title of MVP were present in each camp are taken into account here. Clearly, if the Sixers faced the Nuggets without Joel Embiid and / or Nikola Jokic being on the floor, this meeting is not listed in our balance sheet.
Imperial Devin Booker and Luka Doncic
These established criteria, this is what the overall confrontations of this season between Joel Embiid, Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Devin Booker, Luka Doncic, Jayson Tatum, DeMar DeRozan and Ja Morant give…
– Joel Embiid (Sixers)
With : 8 wins, 7 losses.
Stats : 30.9 pts, 12.3 reb, 4.5 pds, 1.5 int and 1.6 ctr.
Percentages : 50% on shots, 41% on 3-pts and 79% on throws.
– Nikola Jokic (Nuggets)
With : 4 wins, 8 losses.
Stats : 24.8 pts, 11.5 reb, 7.3 pds, 1.5 int and 1.1 ctr.
Percentages : 57% on shots, 34% at 3-pts and 79% on throws.
– Giannis Antetokounmpo (Bucks)
With : 6 wins, 5 losses.
Stats : 29.5 pts, 11.9 reb, 5.0 pds, 1.3 int and 1.4 ctr.
Percentages : 54% on shots, 21% on 3-pts and 65% on throws.
– Devin Booker (Suns)
With : 8 wins, 2 losses.
Stats : 28.9 pts, 3.8 reb, 5.1 pds, 0.9 int and 0.3 ctr.
Percentages : 49% on shots, 35% on 3-pts and 89% on throws.
– Luka Doncic (Mavericks)
With : 9 wins, 4 losses.
Stats : 25.8 pts, 9.3 reb, 10.3 pds, 1.9 int and 0.4 ctr.
Percentages : 42% on shots, 27% on 3-pts and 76% on throws.
– Jayson Tatum (Celtics)
With : 7 wins, 6 losses.
Stats : 26.5 pts, 9.1 reb, 4.4 pds, 1.2 int and 0.8 ctr.
Percentages : 46% on shots, 40% on 3-pts and 88% on throws.
– DeMar DeRozan (Bulls)
With : 2 wins, 13 losses.
Stats : 28.3 pts, 5.7 reb, 4.5 pds, 0.7 int and 0.5 ctr.
Percentages : 47% on shots, 30% on 3-pts and 88% on throws.
– Yes Morant (Grizzlies)
With : 6 wins, 5 losses.
Stats : 30.6 pts, 6.6 reb, 6.5 pds, 1.4 int and 0.1 ctr.
Percentages : 51% on shots, 35% on 3-pts and 73% on throws.
Nikola Jokic now favorite?
Overall, the collective results are quite mixed, with Joel Embiid, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jayson Tatum and Ja Morant who are, for example, just above 50% of victories, with the Sixers, the Bucks, the Celtics and the Grizzlies, despite their high-flying performances.
On the other hand, Devin Booker but especially Luka Doncic clearly stand out collectively, with the Suns and the Mavericks, in addition to shining individually. Quite the opposite of Nikola Jokic, certainly radiant personally, but who logically suffers with the Nuggets, without his two main lieutenants. It’s even worse for DeMar DeRozan, whose Bulls are struggling to really compete with the top league, despite his scoring cards.
Results that are ultimately quite representative, because in line with those of Phoenix (28-11), Memphis (24-15), Boston (26-18), Dallas (24-18), Milwaukee (21-23), Philadelphia ( 25-22), Denver (16-25) and Chicago (19-24), when challenging teams in the positive (50+% wins)…
It remains to be seen whether these balance sheets can influence the choices of voters at the time of the ballot. Remember that in the state, it is Nikola Jokic who finds himself acclaimed by the majority of American specialized media, like NBA.com, ESPN or Basketball-Reference.
1 – Joel Embiid (Sixers)
With: 48 wins, 30 losses – 4th in the East.
Matches: 65 disputed out of 78 possible.
Stats : 30.2 pts, 11.6 reb, 4.2 pds, 1.1 int, 1.5 ctr and 3.1 bp in 34 min.
Percentages: 49% shooting, 37% 3-point and 82% throwing.
2 – Nikola Jokic (Nuggets)
With: 47 wins, 32 losses – 5th in the West.
Matches: 72 disputed out of 79 possible.
Stats : 26.8 pts, 13.7 reb, 8.0 pds, 1.4 int, 0.9 ctr and 3.8 pdb in 33 min.
Percentages: 58% on shots, 34% at 3-pts and 81% on throws.
3 – Giannis Antetokounmpo (Bucks)
With: 48 wins, 30 losses – 3rd in the East.
Matches: 64 disputed out of 78 possible.
Stats : 30.1 pts, 11.6 reb, 5.8 pds, 1.1 int, 1.4 ctr and 3.3 bp in 33 min.
Percentages: 55% shooting, 30% 3-pt and 72% throwing.
4 – Devin Booker (Suns)
With: 62 wins, 16 losses – 1st in the West.
Matches: 66 disputed out of 78 possible.
Stats : 26.6 pts, 5.0 reb, 4.9 pds, 1.2 int, 0.4 ctr and 2.4 bp in 35 min.
Percentages: 46% on shots, 38% at 3-pts and 87% on throws.
5 – Luka Doncic (Mavericks)
With: 49 wins, 30 losses – 4th in the West.
Matches: 62 disputed out of 79 possible.
Stats : 28.3 pts, 9.1 reb, 8.7 pds, 1.2 int, 0.5 ctr and 4.5 bp in 36 min.
Percentages: 46% on shots, 35% at 3-pts and 74% on throws.
Mentions : Jayson Tatum (Celtics), DeMar DeRozan (Bulls), Ja Morant (Grizzlies)…
