Most teams in the NBA have played close to 25 games as of the second week of December this season. Fans and experts have a fairly clear idea of the teams and players who will continue doing well for the rest of the season. The regular season MVP race is as tight as it has ever been, with some surprises in the mix. Let’s take a brief look at the biggest MVP contenders for this NBA season.
Jayson Tatum
Last season’s NBA finals runners-up, Boston Celtics, have been the team of the season so far with 21 wins and 5 losses – and Jayson Tatum has been their star man. The small forward is having what could seem in the future like a pivotal year in his career. He has averaged 30.5 points, 4.1 assists, 8.2 rebounds, and 1 block per game. He is also shooting 48% from the field and 36.3% from the three-point lane.
All of his numbers are well up from his career average. If he stays healthy and the Boston Celtics keep this up, there’s no doubt he will go on to win the MVP award. Tatum has long been expected to play to this sort of level and be in the mix for the big individual awards. He finally appears to be living up to that billing. he’s a popular pick among bettors too. Most NBA betting sites listed by ATS have Tatum as the favorite to win MVP as of early December, with Caesars Sportsbook giving him odds of +250 to keep this form up until the end of the regular season.
Giannis Antetokounmpo
The man referred to as the ‘Greek Freak’ has been in the running for the regular season MVP award for the last couple of years and has even won it twice. The power forward’s Milwaukee Bucks side have also been a consistent outfit for the last few seasons, which adds up given his own consistency. They always finish quite high up the NBA Eastern Conference table and go deep into the playoffs.
Antetokounmpo has missed a few games, unlike Tatum. His stats are impressive, as always. He has averaged 32.1 points, 11.1 rebounds, 5.6 assists, and 1 block per game. He’s shooting 54.8% from the field and 26.2% from three.
Devin Booker
No Chris Paul and Cam Johnson? No problem. Phoenix Suns fans are getting to see a bit of the old Devin Booker this season – the one who would carry the team on his back. Only, this time, he’s attempting to carry them all the way to the top of the Western Conference standings.
The Suns are second in the Western Conference standings thanks to Booker’s heroics so far. The shooting guard has averaged 27.9 points, 4.9 rebounds, 5.8 assists, and 0.4 blocks per game. His defensive game also looks a lot sharper this time around. The Suns’ poor playoffs campaign last time out has not discouraged him – he’s playing the best basketball of his career so far. But keep a close eye on him – we know the Suns fans are, given the resurfacing of some of his old injury issues.
