The first half of the NBA regular season is almost coming to a close. At this point, we are starting to see who the true contenders are and are weeding out the teams we may have thought would be a surprise at the start, but have fallen back down to earth. With that in mind, the MVP race is also starting to heat up as a few players are making great cases this season. Even though it is only December, it never hurts to get an update on who is leading the race for this prestigious award. Here are the first Crown Hoops MVP Power Rankings for the 2021-22 season.
MVP Power Rankings Thus Far
#4: The Joker
The reigning MVP, Nikola Jokic, is doing everything in his power to keep the Denver Nuggets together this year. The team has been snake-bitten with injuries and they are only in the eighth seed of the Western Conference as of right now. However, Jokic is still doing his part by averaging 26.1 points, 13.4 rebounds, and 7.2 assists per game while shooting an effective field goal percentage of 62.4 percent.
#3: The Greek Freak
Giannis Antetokounmpo is leaving right where he left off in the NBA Finals. He has not let getting the first ring of his career make him content and actually looks hungrier. The motivated Giannis has led his defending champion, Milwaukee Bucks, to a three seed in the improved Eastern Conference. An impressive feat considering his other co-stars, Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton, has been in and out of the lineup all year long. The Greek Freak is currently averaging 27.0 points per game (PPG), 11.6 rebounds per game (RPG), and 5.7 assists per game (APG) while shooting an effective field goal percentage of 55.5 percent.
#2: KD
Kevin Durant has been sensational per usual this season. Even without Kyrie Irving and James Harden looking like a shell of himself, KD has the Brooklyn Nets at the top of the entire Eastern Conference. The rest of the supporting cast for the Nets is solid, but they still are not Kyrie or Harden, so this makes it all the more impressive. So far this year, Durant is tallying a league-best, 28.4 PPG, 7.7 RPG, 5.4 APG, and an effective field goal percentage of 57.3 percent.
#1: Wardell
We talked about Durant having the Nets in the one seed in the East. How about the one seed in the entire NBA? That is exactly what Stephen Curry has accomplished thus far and is on track for another historic year. Klay Thompson is not even back yet and Curry has the Golden State Warriors looking like their old dominant selves. As if that is not scary enough, the season Wardell is having is reminiscent of the year when he became the first unanimous MVP in league history. As of this piece being written, Curry is posting totals of 27.5 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 6.3 APG, and an effective field goal percentage of 57.4 percent. All of this in mind is why Stephen Curry is currently leading the league MVP race.
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