NBA MVP Rankings - 7 Mar

The top 4 contenders in the MVP rankings remained in the same spots since my last update in January, but the healthy return of Victor Wembanyama caused him to surge from outside the top 10 into the top 5, as the big man has the Spurs just 2.5 games behind Oklahoma City for the league's best record with just over a month to go in the regular season. Here are my full current MVP rankings:

Most Valuable Player

1 (1) Shai Gilgeous-Alexander - PG - OKC

31.7 Pts (#2), 4.4 Reb, 6.5 Ast (#15), 1.4 Stl, 0.8 Blk, .551 FG% (#15), .384 3P%, .893 FT% (#10)

2 (2) Nikola Jokic - C - DEN

28.8 Pts (#5), 12.5 Reb (#1), 10.3 Ast (#1), 1.4 Stl, 0.8 Blk, .574 FG% (#11), .391 3P%, .832 FT%

3 (3) Cade Cunningham - PG - DET

25.2 Pts (#12), 5.8 Reb, 9.8 Ast (#2), 1.5 Stl (#14), 0.9 Blk, .455 FG%, .334 3P%, .812 FT%

4 (4) Luka Doncic - PG - LAL

32.5 Pts (#1), 7.8 Reb, 8.5 Ast (#3), 1.5 Stl (#15), 0.5 Blk, .475 FG%, .362 3P%, .773 FT%

5 (NR) Victor Wembanyama - C - SAS

23.8 Pts (#19), 11.2 Reb (#5), 2.9 Ast, 1.0 Stl, 3.0 Blk (#1), .502 FG%, .349 3P%, .815 FT%

6 (7) Donovan Mitchell - SG - CLE

28.5 Pts (#7), 4.5 Reb, 5.8 Ast, 1.6 Stl (#7), 0.3 Blk, .483 FG%, .369 3P%, .852 FT%

7 (10) Jaylen Brown - SF - BOS

28.8 Pts (#6), 7.2 Reb, 5.1 Ast, 1.0 Stl, 0.4 Blk, .481 FG%, .348 3P%, .777 FT%

8 (6) Tyrese Maxey - PG - PHI

28.9 Pts (#4), 4.2 Reb, 6.7 Ast (#12), 2.0 Stl (#2), 0.8 Blk, .460 FG%, .372 3P%, .892 FT% (#11)

9 (5) Jamal Murray - PG - DEN

25.5 Pts (#11), 4.3 Reb, 7.2 Ast (#9), 0.9 Stl, 0.4 Blk, .484 FG%, .431 3P% (#10), .876 FT% (#19)

10 (9) Jalen Brunson - PG - NYK

26.2 Pts (#9), 3.4 Reb, 6.5 Ast (#14), 0.7 Stl, 0.1 Blk, .464 FG%, .378 3P%, .842 FT%

Honorable Mention: James Harden - PG - CLE; Jalen Johnson - SF - ATL; Jalen Duren - C - DET; Anthony Edwards - SG - MIN; Chet Holmgren - PF - OKC; Alperen Sengun - C - HOU; Karl-Anthony Towns - C - NYK; Kevin Durant - SF - HOU

All-Time Player Rank Changes

Nikola Jokic has passed Larry Bird to move up to #21

Luka Doncic has passed George Gervin to move up to #58

Jrue Holiday has passed Rod Strickland, Cliff Hagan, Walt Frazier, and Ray Allen to move up to #87

DeMar DeRozan has passed Amare Stoudemire to move up to #99

NBA MVP Rankings - 17 Jan

With Nikola Jokic's injury earlier this month, the top spot in my MVP rankings has changed hands, with reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander taking over the top spot as he continues to lead the Thunder to the best record in the league. The rest of the top 10 shifted around a bit, and there is also a new player in my all-time top 100 rankings. Here are my current rankings, with previous ranking in parentheses and career-highs in bold:

Most Valuable Player

1 (2) Shai Gilgeous-Alexander - PG - OKC

31.6 Pts (#2), 4.4 Reb, 6.3 Ast (#19), 1.4 Stl, 0.8 Blk, .545 FG% (#15), .392 3P%, .886 FT% (#15)

2 (1) Nikola Jokic - C - DEN

29.6 Pts (#4), 12.2 Reb (#1), 11.0 Ast (#1), 1.4 Stl, 0.8 Blk, .605 FG% (#8), .435 3P% (#13), .853 FT%

3 (3) Cade Cunningham - PG - DET

26.2 Pts (#13), 6.1 Reb, 9.8 Ast (#2), 1.5 Stl (#12), 0.8 Blk, .458 FG%, .329 3P%, .824 FT%

4 (4) Luka Doncic - PG - LAL

33.6 Pts (#1), 7.7 Reb, 8.7 Ast (#4), 1.6 Stl (#7), 0.5 Blk, .468 FG%, .334 3P%, .783 FT%

5 (8) Jamal Murray - PG - DEN

25.8 Pts (#16), 4.5 Reb, 7.5 Ast (#8), 1.0 Stl, 0.3 Blk, .484 FG%, .446 3P% (#7), .892 FT% (#10)

6 (9) Tyrese Maxey - PG - PHI

30.3 Pts (#3), 4.4 Reb, 6.7 Ast (#16), 1.9 Stl (#4), 1.0 Blk, .474 FG%, .402 3P%, .878 FT%

7 (7) Donovan Mitchell - SG - CLE

29.2 Pts (#6), 4.8 Reb, 5.7 Ast, 1.5 Stl (#17), 0.3 Blk, .489 FG%, .391 3P%, .845 FT%

8 (6) Jalen Johnson - SF - ATL

23.1 Pts, 10.1 Reb (#7), 8.1 Ast (#5), 1.3 Stl, 0.5 Blk, .519 FG%, .354 3P%, .795 FT%

9 (5) Jalen Brunson - PG - NYK

28.2 Pts (#8), 3.2 Reb, 6.1 Ast (#20), 0.7 Stl, 0.1 Blk, .481 FG%, .388 3P%, .852 FT%

10 (10) Jaylen Brown - SF - BOS

29.4 Pts (#5), 6.5 Reb, 4.9 Ast, 1.0 Stl, 0.4 Blk, .491 FG%, .373 3P%, .785 FT%

Honorable Mention - Victor Wembanyama - C - SAS; Giannis Antetokounmpo - PF - MIL; James Harden - PG - LAC; Deni Avdija - SF - POR; Chet Holmgren - PF - OKC

All-Time Player Rank Changes

Kawhi Leonard has passed George Gervin to move up to #57

Draymond Green has passed Chauncey Billups to move up to #61

DeMar DeRozan has passed Bob Lanier to move up to #100

NBA MVP Rankings - 22 Nov

The top 4 in the first MVP rankings of the season are familiar faces, but a new younger wave has started to emerge, filling in the rest of the top 10. The same two players are at the top as in the past 2 seasons, but it's a long season, and anything can happen with any of these players, but Jokic leading the league in rebounds and assists so far gives him a slight edge over the reigning MVP. Here are my current top 10 MVP candidates, with career-highs in bold:

Most Valuable Player

1. Nikola Jokic - C - DEN

29.5 Pts (#7), 13.0 Reb (#1), 11.0 Ast (#1), 1.7 Stl (#18), 0.8 Blk, .634 FG% (#7), .411 3P%, .851 FT%

2. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander - PG - OKC

31.9 Pts (#3), 4.9 Reb, 6.6 Ast (#16), 1.5 Stl, 0.9 Blk, .534 FG%, .404 3P%, .892 FT%

3. Giannis Antetokounmpo - PF - MIL

31.2 Pts (#4), 10.8 Reb (#6), 6.8 Ast (#15), 0.9 Blk, 1.2 Blk, .629 FG% (#9), .500 3P%, .636 FT%

4. Luka Doncic - PG - LAL

34.6 Pts (#1), 8.5 Reb, 9.0 Ast (#4), 1.9 Stl (#7), 0.5 Blk, .472 FG%, .317 3P%, .790 FT%

5. Tyrese Maxey - PG - PHI

33.4 Pts (#2), 4.7 Reb, 7.9 Ast (#7), 1.6 Stl, 0.9 Blk, .473 FG%, .421 3P%, .878 FT%

6. Cade Cunningham - PG - DET

27.3 Pts (#12), 5.4 Reb, 9.9 Ast (#2), 1.4 Stl, 0.8 Blk, .436 FG%, .275 3P%, .811 FT%

7. Victor Wembanyama - C - SAS

26.2 Pts (#16), 12.9 Reb (#2), 4.0 Ast, 1.1 Stl, 3.6 Blk (#1), .502 FG%, .345 3P%, .857 FT%

8. Donovan Mitchell - SG - CLE

30.3 Pts (#5), 4.8 Reb, 5.3 Ast, 1.5 Stl, 0.4 Blk, .507 FG%, .383 3P%, .822 FT%

9. Jalen Duren - C - DET

20.6 Pts, 11.9 Reb (#4), 1.8 Ast, 1.1 Stl, 1.1 Blk, .674 FG% (#5), .779 FT%

10. Devin Booker - SG - PHX

27.1 Pts (#13), 4.1 Reb, 7.1 Ast (#14), 0.9 Stl, 0.3 Blk, .477 FG%, .333 3P%, .893 FT% (#20)

Honorable Mention: James Harden - PG - LAC; Jalen Johnson - SF - ATL; Austin Reaves - SG - LAL; Julius Randle - PF - MIN; Stephen Curry - PG - GSW; Josh Giddey - PG - CHI; Jalen Brunson - PG - NYK

All-Time Player Rank Changes

Stephen Curry has passed John Stockton to move up to #13

Giannis Antetokounmpo has passed Dirk Nowitzki to move up to #28

Anthony Davis has passed Elvin Hayes to move up to #48

Luka Doncic has passed Draymond Green and Chauncey Billups to move up to #60

Jimmy Butler has passed Jayson Tatum to move up to #75

Mike Conley has passed Gus Williams, Dennis Rodman, and Tom Heinsohn to move up to #93

Trae Young has passed Gus Williams to move up to #96

NBA All-Stars - 2025

It is All-Star Weekend in the NBA, with the actual game coming tomorrow, and while the game itself is completely meaningless, especially in recent years, the title of All-Star still holds some meaning, so I have made my list of which players deserve to be All-Stars this season, and which ones deserve to be the 5 starters from each conference. I've also included injury replacements for Anthony Davis and Giannis Antetokounmpo, who are injured and will not be participating. Here are the players who deserve the honor, with actual starters in bold, reserves underlined, and injury replacements in italics:

Eastern Conference

Starters

PF - Giannis Antetokounmpo - MIL

C - Karl-Anthony Towns - NYK

PF - Jayson Tatum - BOS

PG - Trae Young - ATL

PG - Cade Cunningham - DET

Reserves

PG - Jalen Brunson - NYK

PG - Darius Garland - CLE

C - Nikola Vucevic - CHI (starting replacement for Giannis)

PF - Evan Mobley - CLE

C - Jarrett Allen - CLE

PG - Damian Lillard - MIL

PG - Tyrese Maxey - PHI

Injury Replacement

SF - Donovan Mitchell - CLE

Trae Young was finally made an All-Star, after years of deserving a starting spot, even though he had to be added as an injury replacement. Vucevic was overlooked this year, but deserves to be starting in place of Antetokounmpo, but is instead not on the team, joining Jarrett Allen and Tyrese Maxey, who should also be there. Jaylen Brown, Tyler Herro, and Pascal Siakim should have been left off the team.

Western Conference

Starters

C - Nikola Jokic - DEN

SF - LeBron James - LAL

C - Domantas Sabonis - SAC

PG - Shai Gilgeous-Alexander - OKC

PG - James Harden - LAC

Reserves

C - Victor Wembanyama - SAS

PF - Anthony Davis - DAL

SG - Devin Booker - PHX

SG - Anthony Edwards - MIN

C - Alperen Sengun - HOU

PG - Stephen Curry - GSW

C - Jaren Jackson Jr. - MEM

Injury Replacement

PG - De'Aaron Fox - SAS

Domantas Sabonis, the league leader in rebounds for the third straight season, was once again left off the All-Star team, but he should have been starting instead of sitting at home. Devin Booker should have made the team rather than teammate Kevin Durant, who was named a starter, and De'Aaron Fox should have been included instead of Kyrie Irving. Jalen Williams should have been left off to make room for Sabonis.

All-Time Player Rank Updates

Kevin Durant has passed John Stockton to move up to #12

Nikola Jokic has passed Dirk Nowitzki to move up to #27

Giannis Antetokounmpo has passed George Mikan to move up to #31

Anthony Davis has passed Kevin Johnson to move up to #49

Damian Lillard has passed Clyde Drexler to move up to #53

Jimmy Butler has passed Louie Dampier to move up to #81