In the NBA, there are some players who are considered MVP candidates year in and year out. LeBron James, James Harden and Russell Westbrook are favorites every year. Before they teamed up, Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry would always be involved in the conversation. There is a new wave of players coming up quite often. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Anthony Davis and Kawhi Leonard are the next generation of great NBA players who will be in the MVP conversation for many years to come.
The MVP award has been going to the league's best in almost a “next man up” kind of way. Westbrook won the 2017 MVP award after averaging a triple-double and breaking the record for such games in a single season. The next year, he again averaged a triple-double but the award was given to Harden. The bearded one finished in the top three in the last three years before finally winning one.
The bottom line is no one knows which way the votes are going to go at the end of the year. This means that dark-horse candidates are all in-play when it comes to winning the award.
Joel Embiid
Joel Embiid has completely bought into trusting the process in Philadelphia, and that is mainly because he has been a process himself. After being drafted third overall out of Kansas, the former Jayhawk missed his first two seasons due to injury. His third season was another one that had him sidelined quite often. But since then, he has been one of the league's best players.
The Sixers are a contender in the Eastern Conference, and it all starts with Embiid.
So far this season, Embiid is setting himself apart from the rest of his team. He ranks sixth in the league with 26.5 points per game and has proven to be a game-changer whenever he steps on the floor. He is grabbing 13.3 rebounds per game as well.
The MVP award has turned into a guard's award. The last power forward to win the award was Dirk Nowitzki back in 2007. Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett also captured MVPs in the early 2000s, but Shaquille O'Neal was the last center to claim it in 2000. The odds are against Embiid, but with the way he is playing, he has to be considered. If not this year, he will have great opportunities to win in the future if he stays healthy.
Kemba Walker
Coming out of UConn, Kemba Walker was a sensation. We all still have the image burned into our minds of him hitting a step-back jumper at the buzzer to break the hearts of Pitt in the Big East Tournament. In his first few seasons after being drafted, Walker was a solid point guard, but NBA fans were waiting for him to take the next step.
This season, he is in full UConn mode. Walker is averaging 26.0 points per game while shooting 43.1 percent from the field and 35.5 percent from long distance. He has three games in which he has scored over 40 points, including a 60-point outburst against the Sixers in mid-November. The ex-Husky followed that up with 43 points in a win against the Boston Celtics.
When talking about top point guards in the game, Stephen Curry, Kyrie Irving and Russell Westbrook are always at the top of the list. Walker is starting to insert his name into the conversation. Over the last three seasons, Walker is averaging 23.7 points per game and has become the face of the Hornets.
He has the Hornets at 14-13 and in the sixth spot in the East. While it is hard to picture an MVP playing in Charlotte, Walked has the appeal and might play his way into some votes, especially given the notable lack of talent around him.
Kawhi Leonard
Leonard missed almost all of last season due to injury. There was some speculation that he was healthy enough to play but did not want to suit up for the Spurs, so that caused an ugly exit from San Antonio. When he was sent to Toronto in a deal that included DeMar DeRozan, no one knew what to expect from the San Diego State product.
So far in 2018, Leonard looks to be back to his old self and has the Raptors playing at an all-time high. At 26.1 points and 8.3 rebounds per game, he has returned to being one of the best players in the league. This may not seem like a dark-horse pick given Leonard's priors, but he is included here because of what happened last season. Was he going to return to form or continue to be a headache? He is proving the first option correct.
Toronto currently sits in first place in the Eastern Conference at 23-7 after a huge win over the Golden State Warriors, which ironically enough happened without Leonard in the lineup. The Raptors have always been contenders in the East, but there were always two things holding them back. First, their inability to take down LeBron James in the playoffs. They will not have to worry about that now with him being in Los Angeles (at least before the Finals). The second factor has been a lack of big-time players. DeRozan and Kyle Lowry never showed up when it counted. Leonard is that big-time player who can carry Toronto over the hump and to the promised land.
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