Two players have taken home the past four NBA MVP awards.
Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nikola Jokic both won back-to-back MVPs, starting with Antetokounmpo in 2019.
Players to win the NBA MVP award in back-to-back seasons:
Bill Russell
Wilt Chamberlain
Larry Bird
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Moses Malone
Magic Johnson
Michael Jordan
Tim Duncan
Steve Nash
LeBron James
Stephen Curry
Giannis Antetokounmpo
Nikola Jokic pic.twitter.com/XDzd8s4cpQ— FanDuel Sportsbook (@FDSportsbook) May 9, 2022
The award should have fierce competition once again this season.
Antetokounmpo and Jokic will go up against the likes of Luka Doncic, Joel Embiid, and Kevin Durant.
Those men make up the five betting favorites for the award this season.
Rounding out the top ten is Jayson Tatum, Stephen Curry, Ja Morant, LeBron James, and Devin Booker.
Those ten players are among the elite players in the NBA.
Since Antetokounmpo, Jokic, Durant, Curry, and James have already won MVP awards, we will focus on players who have yet to take home the prized award.
These three players may separate themselves from the rest of the pack.
Luka Doncic
First up is a player who almost assuredly will win at least one MVP during his career: Doncic.
The Slovenian wunderkind is only 23 years old and has finished in the top six of MVP voting three years in a row.
Doncic is a three-time All-Star and three-time All-NBA First Team selection.
He owns career averages of 26.4 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 8.0 assists per game on 57.3% true shooting.
While his efficiency could be better, he can hardly be faulted.
His usage percentage over the past three seasons has been 36.8%, 36.0%, and 37.4%.
League-wide, those numbers ranked second, first, and first.
No player in the NBA carries a heavier offensive burden than Doncic.
And the Dallas Mavericks’ offseason has given no indication his workload will be lessened.
Luka Dončić was asked on NBA Today if he needs another all-star to contend:
“No. I think we have great players on our team. There's plenty very underrated guys that I think should be talked about more.”
He named Dorian Finney-Smith, Spencer Dinwiddie and Christian Wood.
— Mavs Fans For Life (@MavsFansForLife) September 23, 2022
Doncic lost his running-mate Jalen Brunson to the New York Knicks.
Brunson handled much of the secondary playmaking for the offense and took some of the strain off Doncic’s shoulders.
Spencer Dinwiddie will fill that role, but he will not cut into Doncic’s massive responsibility on offense.
Dallas did acquire Christian Wood from the Rockets.
Wood will be a nice pick-and-roll partner Doncic can dance with.
It feels inevitable that Doncic will win an MVP during his NBA career.
If he can better his efficiency and carry the Mavericks to a top-four seed in a strong Western Conference, Doncic will be tough to beat for the MVP award.
Ja Morant
Ja Morant officially arrived as an NBA superstar last season.
He averaged 27.4 points, 6.7 assists, and 5.7 rebounds per game while shooting 49.3% from the floor and 34.4% from deep.
His career-best marks in minutes per game, points per game, rebounds per game, FG%, and 3P% earned him the honor of Most Improved Player (even if he would disagree).
1. @jarenjacksonjr led the league in blocks, blocks per game, & blocks + steals, & not on the list for DPOY . 💐
2. @DBane0625 took a major leap this season & should be on the MIP list instead of me . 💐
3. Congrats coach, you deserve that award . 💐
— Ja Morant (@JaMorant) April 17, 2022
Morant led the upstart Grizzlies to a 56-26 record, second best in the NBA.
He finished seventh in MVP voting and was selected to the All-NBA Second Team.
If not for some injury trouble that forced him to miss 25 games, Morant may have had an even better year.
Morant will now look to take another step forward.
This offseason saw the Grizzlies start to consolidate their roster a bit.
De’Anthony Melton and Kyle Anderson, both regulars in last season’s rotation, were lost and not directly replaced.
Morant’s co-star in the front court, Jaren Jackson Jr., is also slated to miss the first half of the season following surgery on his foot.
Memphis will be looking to Morant to pick up the slack.
Building off last season while appearing in more games would give Morant a strong resume for MVP.
Keeping the Grizzlies towards the top of the standings wouldn’t hurt either.
Joel Embiid
Last up is the MVP runner-up two years in a row: Embiid.
The 76ers star big man has publicly stated his desire to win an MVP award.
And if not for Jokic’s brilliance the past two years, he would assuredly have taken home at least one trophy.
But this year may be Embiid’s best opportunity.
Voter fatigue is real in award voting.
Only three players in NBA history have won the MVP trophy three times in a row: Larry Bird, Wilt Chamberlain, and Bill Russell.
Bird was the most recent to do so in 1984-1986.
For Jokic to win the award a third time, he would need to best his 27.1/13.8/7.9 line from last season.
As such, Embiid feels primed to potentially capture his first MVP award.
Joel Embiid over the last 2 seasons:
— 30/11
— 51/37/83%
— 1st in PPG
— 2x All-NBA
— 2x All-Star
— All-Defense2nd in MVP voting 2 years in a row. pic.twitter.com/4lVuZd7n6f
— StatMuse (@statmuse) August 14, 2022
Embiid will turn 29 years old during the season and is finally on a roster tailored to his game.
He has a co-star at point guard in James Harden that should lessen the load on his shoulders while also making life easier for him.
Embiid should also be surrounded by better shooting at all times.
While Embiid probably won’t average 30 points per game again, he should still hit 27+ on greater efficiency.
And for a player who has greatly improved his ball handling and decision-making, Embiid could also top his 4.2 assists per game mark from last season.
Embiid also stated during media day this year that he will make a concerted effort to be better defensively.
With less asked of him on offense, he expects himself to be among the league’s best defenders.
Continued offensive dominance paired with more consistency on defense could make it impossible for voters to pass over Embiid for the third time.
NEXT: What Happens If The Clippers Don’t Succeed This Year?