The 2023 MVP Race has been an exciting one since the start of the year. The amount of reshuffling between top stars has been legendary since the favorite at the start of the year has changed until today. At the start of the year, Jayson Tatum looked to be the favorite as the Boston Celtics were red hot and was winning games consistently. All of a sudden, the big men started dominating, including Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokic, and Joel Embiid. Jayson Tatum, quite frankly, has fallen out of the race behind these three elite bigs.
We have already seen how the MVP Race was shaping out in February, but things are slightly different now. With the 2023 season almost over, the MVP Race is officially a three-man competition. Giannis Antetokounmpo has consistently been the best two-way player in the world over the past few seasons and has the Milwaukee Bucks sitting pretty yet again as the first seed in the Eastern Conference at 51-20.
Nikola Jokic could be the first center ever to average a triple-double as he is posting 24.7 PPG, 11.9 RPG, and 9.9 APG while guiding the Denver Nuggets to the first seed in the Western Conference. We haven’t seen a center like Jokic before, which is why he has won the last two MVP Awards. Does voter bias play a role in the big man winning it a third straight time?
Joel Embiid, one of the most talented two-way centers of his generation, has been simply unbelievable over the past few weeks as he has the Philadelphia 76ers second in the East at 48-22 while averaging a league-leading 33.5 PPG. After finishing runner-up to Jokic last year in the MVP Race, he has taken his game to another level.
Which one of these three stars is truly the most valuable player? The MVP Race is a three-man competition until the end of the season, and here is the analysis of which player truly deserves the iconic individual award. In the end, there can only be one winner, and here is the unbiased answer to the question we have all been asking for.
Points
Joel Embiid – 33.5 PPG (5 Points)
Giannis Antetokounmpo – 31.3 PPG (4 Points)
Nikola Jokic – 24.7 PPG (3 Points)
Nobody has scored the ball better than Joel Embiid this season, as his 33.5 PPG average is first ahead of Luka Doncic. Scoring in the modern NBA has been very high across the board, but the big man is doing it efficiently at nearly 55% from the field and 36% from three. When fouled, as he often is, Embiid is nailing approximately 86%. Whether he takes you down low or scores from the outside, Joel wins the scoring category.
Giannis Antetokounmpo is averaging over 30 PPG for the first time in his career, even if he has posted over 25 PPG for six straight seasons. His inability to shoot the ball consistently hurts his scoring average, while Jokic is averaging his lowest PPG total since the 2020 season. Does it make sense for Jokic to be the MVP when his scoring is down compared to his last two seasons? He makes up for it in passing, as we will see, but Embiid wins the first category.
Rebounds
Nikola Jokic – 11.9 RPG (5 Points)
Giannis Antetokounmpo – 11.9 RPG (4 Points)
Joel Embiid – 10.2 RPG (3 Points)
Jokic is a tremendous rebounder because of his size at 6’11” and 284 lbs. Even if he isn’t muscle-bound like Giannis or explosive like Embiid, the Serbian is extremely strong and has long arms to snatch rebounds. He has more total rebounds than Giannis this season and has the edge in RPG this season.
Giannis Antetokounmpo is simply a surreal athlete with the way he can crash the boards despite being a forward. The Greek Freak is the epitome of a player who can play without a position because he can play point guard and still crash the boards like a big man before starting a fast break. Embiid is averaging a double-double like his counterparts but is not rebounding as much as the other two. As a result, Jokic slightly edges Giannis in this category as he has averaged more RPG for most of the season and has more total rebounds.
Assists
Nikola Jokic – 9.9 APG (5 Points)
Giannis Antetokounmpo – 5.6 APG (4 Points)
Joel Embiid – 4.2 APG (3 Points)
Nikola Jokic is on an entirely different level when it comes to being a playmaker. The Serbian is a point-center, perhaps the first of his kind. Jokic can set up his teammates better than most point guards and is averaging a near triple-double with assists. No doubt, Nikola is the best passing center of all time.
Giannis Antetokounmpo is a point forward for the Milwaukee Bucks and is perfectly suitable for setting up his shooters, including Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton, when he’s healthy. Averaging 5.6 APG is very impressive for a player who is the primary scorer and rebounder as well. Joel Embiid is a capable passer out of the post as he is seeing constant double teams, and he is posting 4.2 APG despite leading the league in scoring.
As solid as Giannis and Embiid are when it comes to passing, Jokic is on an entirely different level.
Steals
Nikola Jokic – 1.2 SPG (5 Points)
Joel Embiid – 1.1 SPG (4 Points)
Giannis Antetokounmpo – 0.7 SPG (3 Points)
Surprisingly, despite being the most inconsistent defender out of the three, Nikola Jokic wins the steals category. Stealing the ball has to do with high basketball IQ, and Jokic certainly has that, as we have all year. Nikola knows how to respond to opposing players making passes, and he is quite good at picking the ball and starting the break. Averaging 1.2, SPG is very solid, and he wins the category head of two much better defensive players.
Joel Embiid is right behind Jokic at 1.1 SPG, his career-high (tied with last season). Embiid has to do a lot for the 76ers including scoring, shot-blocking, and rebounding but can also steal the ball quite well to let James Harden or Tyrese Maxey push the pace. Giannis is excellent on defense, but he is having somewhat of a down year when it comes to stealing the ball. The Greek Freak averages 1.1 SPG over his career, and he has never averaged under 0.8 SPG in a single season. Again, Jokic wins a category, although it is by a slight margin.
Blocks
Joel Embiid – 1.7 BPG (5 Points)
Giannis Antetokounmpo – 0.8 BPG (4 Points)
Nikola Jokic – 0.7 BPG (3 Points)
Joel Embiid is having his best shot-blocking season since 2019, as he posts 1.7 BPG. Embiid is surprisingly quick and explosive for his size, and at 7’0” and 280 lbs, he will always be a threat to swat shots. This season, Embiid has been a man on a mission on both ends of the floor, and his defensive impact might be the reason the center wins his first MVP award this season. Defensively, Joel has been a demon and should be in contention for the Defensive Player of the Year award.
Giannis Antetokounmpo is also a very capable shot-blocker, as he has the athleticism and speed to get up and block shots. The Greek Freak has a career average of 1.3 BPG, so he is well below that mark this season. Giannis is having somewhat of a “down year” at blocking shots as he is with stealing the ball. Jokic, despite being 6’11” tall, is quite limited at shot-blocking because he plays below the rim and can’t be relied upon to block shots like Embiid. No surprise, he is last in this category and Embiid tops it by a wide margin.
Turnovers
Joel Embiid – 3.4 TOV (5 Points)
Nikola Jokic – 3.5 TOV (4 Points)
Giannis Antetokounmpo – 3.9 TOV (3 Points)
Joel Embiid has done a tremendous job this year in terms of protecting the ball despite being such a high-usage player. The center is hoisting over 20 shots per game and getting almost 12 free throws per game, yet he is keeping hold of the ball and making the most of it. The center always has two defenders picking at the ball and trying to persuade him to pass rather than score but is averaging the least number of turnovers than the other two superstars competing for the MVP award.
Jokic is expected to have a turnover-heavy style of play because, in many ways, he is a point guard. Any elite point guard turns the ball over consistently because trying to create passes and scoring opportunities for teammates is never easy, and turnovers are expected. The same goes for Giannis, who is the primary offensive option on the team, but he has not done a great job of being a bit safer. The Greek Freak is averaging the most turnovers in his career, and he finishes last in the category that Embiid leads in.
Shooting (FG-3PT-FT)
Nikola Jokic – 63-39-82 (5 Points)
Joel Embiid – 55-36-86 (4 Points)
Giannis Antetokounmpo – 55-29-65 (3 Points)
Nikola Jokic is a passing demon, just as he is an efficiency demon. The Serbian is extremely efficient on the offensive side of the court, nailing 63% from the field, 39% from three, and 82% from the free-throw line. Jokic is a threat to get buckets from anywhere on the court, as he can’t be left open by any means. Inside the paint, Nikola is simply unstoppable because he has the strength to get to his spots and an extremely soft touch around the rim, hence his elite FG percentage.
Joel Embiid is leading the NBA in scoring and is doing so at very impressive efficiency. The center is averaging 55% from the field, 36% from deep, and 86% from the free-throw line. Embiid is a threat to score from anywhere, especially from the stripe, as he attempts nearly 12 free throws per game on average. Unsurprisingly, Giannis finishes last in the category with a poor 29% clip from three and a 65% average from the free-throw line. This likely won’t change because Antetokounmpo prefers to score inside rather than anywhere else, so he will always be behind the two other MVP candidates when it comes to shooting percentages.
Efficiency
Joel Embiid – 31.74 (5 Points)
Nikola Jokic – 31.72 (4 Points)
Giannis Antetokounmpo – 28.76 (3 Points)
Player Efficiency Rating, better known as PER, is a statistic created by John Hollinger, whose goal is to give each NBA player a comprehensive rating. Hollinger’s PER metric is unique because it combines a player’s positive and negative contributions on the court. Joel Embiid is currently leading the NBA in PER with 31.7, and he has been the most consistent performer on both ends of the floor all year.
Whether it is scoring or defense, Joel has done extremely well in a positive fashion on the stat sheet and wins this category as a result. Jokic is right behind him with an excellent player efficiency rating of 31.72, with his PER average taking his number right behind Embiid’s. Giannis has a career 24.86 PER, so he is well above his career average and is also having himself an MVP season. Overall, Joel Embiid has a slight edge in PER over Nikola Jokic and a significant one over Antetokounmpo.
Team Record
Giannis Antetokounmpo – 51-20 (5 Points)
Joel Embiid – 48-22 (4 Points)
Nikola Jokic – 48-24 (3 Points)
Giannis Antetokounmpo is leading the Milwaukee Bucks to an impressive 50 wins over 71 games, meaning he has only lost 20 games all year. That is amazing for the best player on the best team in the NBA, and in a lot of cases throughout history, that usually meant the MVP award was awarded to that player. The Greek Freak is having himself another MVP-caliber season, and the team record is his biggest argument until now.
Joel Embiid’s Philadelphia 76ers are 48-22, meaning the Bucks have won two more games than the Sixers have. The center has time to catapult himself to the top of the East if he can win more games than Giannis can over the final stretch of the season. Nikola Jokic, despite his excellency in triple-double fashion, is four games behind Giannis’ Bucks as he has lost four games more. Jokic also has time to get more wins in the column, and team record could have an important say on the MVP award winner at the end of the year once all 82 games are played.
Who Is The MVP Right Now?
Total Points Accumulated
Joel Embiid – 40 Points (4 Categories Won)
Nicola Jokic – 36 Points (4 Categories Won)
Giannis Antetokounmpo – 33 Points (1 Categories Won)
Clearly, the edge has gone to Joel Embiid. The center has been simply unbelievable all season long but has particularly turned it up another notch over the past few weeks. Joel is leading the NBA in scoring and PER and almost single-handedly guiding the Philadelphia 76ers to a top-two seed in the Eastern Conference, thanks to his impact on both ends of the court.
Nicola Jokic had the edge all season long, but his inability to influence the defensive end as much as Embiid might play the difference. Not to mention, the Philadelphia 76ers have been the better team in terms of record and play over the past few seasons. In order to become a three-time MVP (the first since Larry Bird), Jokic must prove that he did enough to surpass Joel Embiid in more areas and that simply isn’t the case based on our scoring categories, turnovers, team record, and blocks.
Giannis Antetokounmpo is doing spectacular things, winning one category, which was a team record, but he never truly came close enough to challenge Embiid and Jokic enough. The two centers have been spectacular all year long, but the edge again remains to Joel Embiid as he accumulated the most points and has been the best player over the past few weeks. Unless Jokic can get his triple-double average for the season and lead the Nuggets to a better team than the 76ers or Giannis finishes with close to 60 wins, Joel Embiid will be winning his first MVP award this season.
Source: fadeawayworld
