When it comes to the 2020 – 2021 Most Valuable Player, who truly deserves it at this point of the season? That is the question that a lot of fans are debating about. As the season is more than halfway over, there are some legitimate contenders in the conversation who can all win it in their own right.
When discussing the potential candidates for this year’s award, James Harden, LeBron James, and Nikola Jokic topped the list for the majority of the season. The numbers they have put up per game, along with their team’s success spoke for itself. However, a couple players that had legitimate arguments were Joel Embiid and Damian Lillard.
When someone thinks how do these five athletes deserve to be in the most valuable player conversation, what criteria do they have to meet? Do they have to put amazing statistics up every night? Does their team have to have a good amount of wins? Does their impact for their individual teams matter? Those three questions are usually what fans use to argue their statements on what athlete deserves it.
According to ESPN, LeBron James is averaging 25.4 points, with 7.9 rebounds and assists per game while shooting a little over 50%. His team, the Los Angeles Lakers, are currently 31-19 and are 5th in the Western Conference. However, the downfall that LeBron is facing is that he has not played a game since March 20th as he suffered a high ankle sprain.
James Harden is averaging 25.9 points, with 8.2 rebounds and 11.1 assists per game while shooting 46.3%. The Brooklyn Nets are currently 34-16 and are tied for 1st in the Eastern Conference. However, he suffered a hamstring injury and has missed 2 games.
Nikola Jokic is averaging 26.3 points, 11 rebounds, and 8.6 assists as a big man. Also, he is shooting 56.6% from the field. The Denver Nuggets are currently 31-18 and are currently 4th in the Western Conference. Plus, he has not missed any time this season.
Joel Embiid is averaging 29.8 points, 11.3 rebounds, and 3.2 assists while shooting 52.3% as a big man. The Philadelphia 76ers are currently 34-16 and are currently tied for 1st in the Eastern Conference. However, he missed 18 games this season with a knee injury.
Lastly, Damian Lillard is averaging 29.6 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 7.7 assists while shooting 44.8% from the field. The Portland Trail Blazers are currently 30-19 and are 6th in the Western Conference. Plus, he has only missed 2 games this season.
Looking at all the statistics and wins, one could say that anyone of these individuals deserve the award. Plus, their importance to their teams speaks for themselves by looking at their win columns. Fellow Bradley journalists, Devin Foster, stated that based off of those three categories, James Harden deserves to be the most valuable player while having Joel Embiid as a close second. “What sold it for me was the fact that [Embiid] missed multiple games with injury, so although he was able to put up some great numbers, he missed a good portion of the season.” It seems as if when athletes suffer injury, their rankings for certain awards decrease. It is unfortunate that has to be the case but injuries come with the sports.