Early Season MVP Candidates

We are over a month into the 2019-2020 NBA season and a whole lot has already happened. It is a much different league than fans have been used to in recent years and it might be for the better. With multiple teams from both conferences rising to contender status, it is safe to say that the NBA has gained a level of competition that it has been missing for a while. When new teams begin to climb the standings, we often are able to pinpoint new stars as well. This season, however, the league has seen both former MVPs and rising stars begin to creep into the MVP conversation. Here are my top early season MVP candidates:

1. Giannis Antetokounmpo

Antetokounmpo is picking up right where he left off after winning last season’s MVP award. His Bucks team is back on top of the east with an 18-3 record, as he has averaged 30.8 points per game, 13.4 rebounds and 5.8 assists. Many figured after being defeated by the defending champions, the Toronto Raptors, in last season’s Eastern Conference Finals that he would return hungrier than ever. If Antetokounmpo can keep this performance going, with his team remaining as a top contender in the east, there is very little reason the MVP award should not stay in his grasp at the end of the season.

• 

2. LeBron James

If you have followed the NBA season until this point, there is not much I can tell you about LeBron James than you may already know. After a disappointing outcome for his first season with the L.A. Lakers, James has made an incredible effort in putting “showtime” back on the map and, in doing so, making a statement in his quest to reclaim his throne as the best player in the league. He is playing the best defense we have seen him play since his Miami days, he is racking up triple-double after triple-double and he is leading the league in assists per game with 10.8. James is on a mission and in his 17th season, we could very well witness him add a fifth MVP trophy to his collection.

3. Luka Dončić

Personally, I questioned whether or not Dončić could top his Rookie of the Year performance from last season. Now, as we enter the holiday season, I am listing him as an early MVP candidate. It was known Dončić was a young triple-double machine, but through over a month, he is nearly averaging one. His Mavericks have jumped to one of the top spots in the west with a 13-6 record and he has played no small part in getting them there. Considering it is still just his second season, I do not see him as the favorite to win the MVP, but if he continues to play even close to this level, I 100% believe he will finish the season as a top candidate.

It is always difficult to predict MVPs at the start of the season. As the season progresses, injuries happen, trades begin to change the course of a team’s success and some front-runners sometimes began to fade out of the spotlight. These are my candidates as of right now. What makes this discussion exciting, is that nothing is ever certain. We could be seeing a surprising star in the next few months, and with the balance of competition at this point in the NBA, anything is up for grabs at any time.