Three names have been fixtures in the KIA MVP Ladder over the last month of the 2021-22 season: Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid and Giannis Antetokounmpo. But one player who hasn't popped up in the MVP race enough is Memphis Grizzlies All-Star Ja Morant.

No doubt Jokic, Embiid and Antetokounmpo deserve all the praise they are getting for their respective historical campaigns. However, Morant has made a strong case that similarly warrants a spot at the table the three aforementioned superstars are sitting on right now.

He certainly showed that on Monday when he put on a scintillating career-high 52-point performance on 22-of-30 shooting against the San Antonio Spurs. It really only took him a couple of days to break his previous best of 46 points, which he set against the Chicago Bulls this past weekend.

So does he have your attention now? Here are three reasons why Ja Morant should get more love for MVP.

Ja Morant MVP Case

3. The Grizzlies have the third-best record in the NBA

Say that again. The Grizzlies, at 43-20, have the THIRD-BEST RECORD in the NBA. One cannot emphasize enough how impressive this is for a supposedly young team that is still on the rise.

But they aren't even close to settling for just third. Memphis is breathing heavily down the necks of the Golden State Warriors and is threatening to snatch the no. 2 seed in the West and in the overall league standings. They've had the second-best record in the league behind the Suns since the calendar flipped to 2022.

And this is all in large part due to Ja Morant, who is having his superstar breakout campaign. While the Grizzlies have gone 12-2 without Morant this season, it's hard to imagine them keeping out that win-pace without their franchise star.

This is perhaps Morant's main edge over the three aforementioned guys leading the MVP race. The Nuggets (35-26) are just sixth in the West, while the Sixers (37-23) and Sixers (37-25) are in the top four in the East but have worse records.

2. Ja Morant's numbers compete with some of the best

Nikola Jokic's numbers read: 25.5 points, 13.8 rebounds (2nd in the NBA), 8.0 assists and 56.7 percent field goal percentage.

Joel Embiid's numbers read: 29.7 points (1st in the NBA), 11.1 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 49.6 percent field goal percentage.

Giannis Antetokounmpo's numbers read: 29.4 points (2nd in the NBA), 11.3 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 54.4 percent field goal percentage

Now let's take a look at Morant's. Before entering Monday, Morant was averaging 27.1 points (eighth in the NBA), 5.9 rebounds and 6.9 assists while shooting 49.0 percent from the field. That is sure to go up after his 52-point eruption against San Antonio. Those are MVP numbers for sure.

A lot of people are comparing Morant's rise in his third year to that of Derrick Rose's, when the latter bagged the 2010-11 MVP trophy. Comparing the 2019-20 Rookie of the Year's production to the former Chicago Bulls superstar's numbers in his MVP year—25.0 points, 4.1 rebounds, 7.7 assists, and 44.5 percent FG—Morant's look even better overall.

This isn't to say that just because Morant's numbers are better means he should also get MVP like Rose did. MVP is obviously subjective and is dependent on how the rest of the field is doing as well. But what Morant is doing his third season is eerily similar to what Rose did for the Bulls, and that should be worth considering since the narratives also play a part in the voting.

1. The narrative should really favor him more than it actually does

A lot of the MVP buzz is based on narrative, and this should really favor him over the likes of Jokic, Antetokounmpo and Embiid. Voter fatigue could be the case for the likes of The Joker, who won MVP last season, and The Greek Freak, who won in back-to-back campaigns before last year. As for Embiid, perhaps the arrival of James Harden in Philadelphia hurts him in that aspect.

Morant, meanwhile, has been the driving force for Memphis' resurgence this season. Nobody, except themselves of course, expected the Grizzlies to be this good this quickly. But because of Morant's ascension to superstar status, they are right in the thick of the championship hunt. And he deserves much more credit for putting them in this position.

To end…

Ja Morant likely won't win MVP over Jokic, Embiid and Antetokounmpo, and the KIA MVP race shows that it really may be down to those three the rest of the way. But with the way the conversations are going, it's baffling just how the 22-year-old phenom isn't getting the same kind of buzz that they are considering all the factors laid out above. If there's one who should be sitting right in the Maurice Podoloff banquet beside them, it's Morant.