Toronto Raptors head coach acknowledges that Pascal Siakam has been a superstar for his team this year.

Nevertheless, Nurse — ever the realist — was also not afraid to state that Giannis Antetokounmpo and LeBron James have separated themselves from the rest of the pack as the MVP frontrunners:

Of course, there are some distinctions to be made. Siakam is in just his fourth year as a pro and his second as a full-time starter. He capitalized on his starting opportunity last season, winning the NBA's Most Improved Player Award. There is a very strong chance that he could repeat in that category.

Siakam is averaging 25.0 points, 8.2 rebounds and 3.6 assists through 26 games. He has increased his usage in every facet of the game following Kawhi Leonard's departure from Toronto, shooting 6.2 threes (after logging 2.7 last year) and over 20 field goal attempts per contest (as compared to 11.8 last year) this season. His development into a legitimate star has helped the Raptors (18-8) stay among the best teams in the Eastern Conference.

As such, Nurse did well to include that Siakam is “getting better.” He has taken monumental strides in his development over the past two seasons, and it would seem that the sky is the limit.

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However, James and Antetokounmpo have been playing some phenomenal basketball.

James is averaging 25.9 points and 7.4 rebounds to go along with an NBA-best 10.6 assists per game. He has had tremendous success running the Los Angeles Lakers' offense through Anthony Davis, yet his own production has only increased with Davis in the fold.

Giannis, meanwhile, is averaging more points (31.7) and rebounds (12.8) than last season while also dwarfing the rest of the NBA in PER (34.6).

Siakam may be in the conversation, but he has a long way to go to reach the mountaintop.