My 2021 NBA MVP

 The column I wrote around the All-Star break still stands, but I have a different MVP as the season comes to a close.

 I never was going to fake vote (since I don’t have a real vote yet) for James Harden for MVP, even if he stayed completely healthy until now, but the basketball that he was playing at the time had to be highlighted. Harden at the time was playing MVP level basketball. However, what he did to Houston at the beginning of the season cannot be rewarded with the MVP. The NBA cannot reward someone throwing a napalm grenade to an organization and walk away with an MVP. Harden’s award this year is that he gets to compete for a championship instead of having to sit through one of the worst teams in recent memory. His secondary award is that he added another layer of strength in the player empowerment area because now players can say “look at what Harden did in Houston, I can do the same thing.” I believe that you’ll see stars throwing temper tantrums until they are traded to the place they want to go, like stars have been teaming up since LeBron made his “decision” a national story.

Due to that Harden is out, so who is on my ballot of five? Here is my 2021 NBA MVP ballot in reverse order:

5. Julius Randle

He’s been awesome! He has brought back the Knicks into the conversation by being the closest thing a 2021 player can be to a beloved 1994 Knick. This Randle season is the visualization of what Knick fans have been preaching for since the ’94 Knicks got bounced by Jordan.

Randle is showing the potential the Lakers saw when they took him in the lottery. This isn’t the first time that we’ve seen this type of play from Randle, but this is the first time we’ve seen this type of play for an entire season from him. 2021 Julius Randle is the fully unleashed version of himself.

This is the type of season that will turn the culture around in MSG which could result in a superstar finally signing a free agent deal with the Knicks. I think that most voters (with actual votes) think the way I do about how dominate Randle has been and will have him five or higher on their ballots. Ultimately, I think this Randle season will net one of the superstars in the 2022 summer (Durant, Irving, Harden, Westbrook, and Butler {just to name a few}) and even though that’s roughly a year removed, this Knicks team barring major injury is at worst a playoff team… finally! Rejoice in that and rejoice in having one of the best players in league. You’ve earned it!

4. Steph Curry

The only reason why Golden State is anywhere near the playoffs is because Steph Curry re-invented his Super Saiyan form.

This year was supposed to be the return of the Steph-Klay Warriors with Draymond and James Wiseman key three and four pieces as the NBA bowed its head in their reign. With Thompson’s pick-up injury over the summer delaying that for another year, the Warriors were viewed like they were last year, lucky to get into the playoffs, but with a healthy Steph, not a lottery team.

Well, ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce you to Steph Curry 3.0 (4.0 maybe… I don’t know) who is the definition of a walking bucket. Somehow Curry has been able to evolve his game into the best possible version of himself three years removed from his unanimous MVP season. What Steph has been able to accomplish this year definitely earns him an MVP, yet another All-NBA finish, and maybe his first scoring title, which seems incredible that it took him this long to accomplish considering all the threes…

3. Chris Paul

Chris Paul might be the most underrated winner in the entire league. Even though Paul doesn’t have a ring, he has the ability to make every team his is on a playoff team. It is possible that no super star has done more with less recognition from the collective. Even when Paul was in New Orleans, or the ringleader of Lob City, he hasn’t gotten the props he has truly deserved.

Maybe it’s because he’s been lost in the shuffle with dozens of tremendous points, or he has never played on a team that shifts the landscape of the NBA (closest he’s come is Houston), or maybe it’s because he was tossed aside after David Stern blocked his ability to play for the Lakers. Whatever the reason is, well, this year is the year I will finally have enough of people taking Chris Paul for granted.

Chris Paul is a top five guard of all-time and his career should be celebrated like we’ve celebrated LeBron, Kobe, or Durant. Steph Curry gets more recognition than Paul, and he shouldn’t because they are on the same level.

What Paul has been able to accomplish with this Phoenix team is stuff of legends, especially since he was thrown out to pasture after leaving Houston. Since then, Paul has turned the clock back and played at the same level he was when he dragged a lottery Hornets team to the playoffs seemingly year after year.

Chris Paul is a winner and hopefully he will get his time in the sun along with a ring, before we don’t get to see him lace up his sneakers anymore.

2. Joel Embiid

The modern-day Shaq would be my MVP if he played more games. I’ve always been in Embiid’s corner since he played a fourth of a season and was clearly the Rookie of the Year.

The only reason I have Embiid at two is because of the number of games he’s played. He’s hit the rest of the check points an MVP winner is supposed to hit for me. Maybe in the years to come I will have a guy who has missed 20 plus games like I have put Bonds and Clemmons on my baseball Hall of Fame ballot, but for now, I’m not there yet.

Yes, he’s team is the best team in the East.

Yes, he’s the best player on his team.

Yes, he’s reached a level where on a nightly basis, teams throw their hands up on trying to game plan for him on both ends of the floor.

Yes, he’s in the conversation for best player in the NBA right now.

He just didn’t stay healthy. If he only missed half the games he did, I would personally hand him the MVP trophy. Embiid is showing that the fruits of “The Process” can be a team with an MVP candidate and can compete for a championship. Embiid has grown into his enormous body and expectations—it’s incredible to watch. I hope fans can watch this Embiid for next five to 10 years. However, he’ll finish second this year, maybe next year. Fingers crossed.

1.     Nikola Jokic

Jokic is a video game character. Never did I think I would see a guy who is in the conversation for tallest player in the league, be the best passer in the league, and supercomputer playmaker.

Jokic went from a really good player to put on league pass if he’s playing and a really good fantasy player to a player that you have to watch if he’s playing. The hype around Joker reminds me of the hype around Giannis in his first MVP season. This season as the rubber met the road, the MVP conversation seemed to be up in the air. Until about a week or two ago, you could’ve made an argument for any one of the players on my list. Since Jamaal Murray’s injury, Jokic has went to another level. Which is one of the boxes you need to check if you want to carry this hardware. He’s the best player on one of the best teams in the league. A slight against Jokic is that he’s team is fourth in the West. That’s not entirely his fault. He’s only human and cannot guard all five players on the floor.

Jokic would be the first MVP not on the best team in his conference since Russell Westbrook in 2017 when he won the award on the sixth team in the West. Even if you were against Westbrook and pro-Harden in that MVP chase, Harden was on the third best team in the Western Conference that year. One stat that I look at when I’m determining who I’m going to vote for is Value Over Replacement, which is the basketball equivalent of WAR in baseball, and Jokic leads in that category by almost three games (8.1 to Curry’s 5.4). He also leads in plus/minus by almost three (11.6 to Giannis’ 8.9). Jokic has been the best complete player and he is an enigma when trying to compare him to another who’s played the game. Jokic is one of one and deserves the award now instead of giving him an Oscar MVP (an award in a year when he hasn’t played that well, but has been one of the best players in the league—like Harden), this is the best Jokic and we should all watch in wonder as he reaches his peak.