NBA MVP Race

This NBA season has been filled with narratives, unexpected players and outcomes that have changed the scope of the league.

With the playoffs on the way, many are waiting for the regular season awards with anticipation. This year's edition of the regular season has changed the way we look at the most valuable players, so here's a breakdown of the events.

Good but not good enough:

As the league is expanding, many more players have become their team's leading scorers, and with that the best scorers in the league.

6 players have managed to score over 30 ppg, compared to the last three seasons where 6 players managed to score 30+ ppg in total.

These players are:

Joel Embiid - 33.1 ppg

Luka Doncic - 32.4 ppg

Damian Lillard - 32.2 ppg

SGA - 31.4 ppg

Giannis Antetokounmpo - 31.1 ppg

Jayson Tatum - 30.1 ppg

But scoring isn't all it takes to make the MVP runs, in fact Nikola Jokic averaged under 25 ppg this season, yet he's been a favorite to win the MVP for most of the season.

The candidates

According to basketball-reference, Jokic has a 60% chance of winning it this year, but that was before the injury that held him back as the Nuggets frail under pressure.

Embiid came out strong towards the end of the season, in fact he has been consistent since February, scoring at 25 points each game and securing double doubles here and there.

Joel Embiid's rampage managed to maintain the Sixers in the 3rd seed of the eastern conference, a tough one nonetheless, where the Celtics and Bucks showed to be the more dominant sides, but that should mean they don't have a chance in the playoffs. In fact, they are one of the teams you should expect to reach the finals.

With the importance of the end of the regular season and how it affects a player's individual achievements, and how in turn those achievements help the team, it's hard to see Embiid not being crowned MVP.

It’s been a good run for the big man, in fact I should say big MEN, since the other MVP candidates are Jokic and Giannis.

All three big men managed to average at the very least a 30 PER, something that has never been done in the past, in fact the last and only time there were more than 1 player with over 30 PER was last season where both Jokic and Embiid reached the mark.

This is why it's so hard to choose an MVP this season. Normally, 1 player, if not none, will reach a 30 PER, but with efficiency being key to win awards, it's becoming harder and harder to depict who is truly the league's most valuable player.