Frozen in place for four and a half months.
That’s what had to be done with the Kia MVP Ladder the moment NBA Commissioner Adam Silver announced the suspension of the season on March 11 due to the coronavirus pandemic. It was that night when we learned that Utah Jazz All-Star center Rudy Gobert had tested positive for Covid-19. Others followed, including his All-Star teammate Donovan Mitchell.
Last week, voters for the NBA’s end-of-season awards -- which include the Kia MVP -- were informed that games after March 11 would not be used in evaluating players for awards purposes. (Ballots are due July 28, two days before the season restarts, negating any chance of it happening anyway.)
That brings us back to the nearly five months between actual games this season -- an eternity that gave plenty of time to deliberate about the merits of each candidate for the league’s most prestigious individual (regular-season) award.
What was a five-or six-man race early on -- consisting of reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, four-time MVP LeBron James, his teammate Anthony Davis, two-time and reigning Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard, reigning Kia Rookie of the Year Luka Doncic and former MVP James Harden -- had narrowed to a two-man sprint between Antetokounmpo and James.
Some were arguing that James had for the moment passed Antetokounmpo, setting up a roller coaster ride to the scheduled finish of the 2019-20 season.
Lakers coach Frank Vogel, far from an unbiased observer, didn’t need that weekend or the months that have passed since then to make up his mind. He was ready to cast a vote for James during training camp, long before he went on to lead the league in assists in his 17th season.
“Nobody impacts winning more than LeBron James, I do believe that he should be the MVP this year,” Vogel said earlier this week on a Zoom call with reporters. “I believe he should be the MVP and I believe Anthony Davis should be the Defensive Player of the Year. I hope those awards go to our two players. That’s not to take anything away from some of the other candidates. But what LeBron means to our team, even before the season begins when the roster is being put together, with the number of guys that are on the Lakers because LeBron James is here and want to play with him. I think it starts there.
“And then obviously what he’s able to do on the basketball court, orchestrating the offense, leading the league in assists and really setting the tone on the defensive end. We’re the third best defense in the NBA, best in the West and a lot of that comes from his commitment this season, which has been greater than the last few years from what I’m told, has really set us apart in terms of being the best record currently in the Western Conference.”
Vogel’s loyalty is as admirable as his comments were predictable. (And what else would you expect him to say about his guy?)
But it takes more than endorsements and even the memory of one spectacular weekend for a reshuffling of the order as significant as that, especially with the season Antetokounmpo put together after his first MVP season.
He didn’t play like a man satisfied with himself after falling short of his main goal of winning Larry O’Brien Trophy. He improved himself in every facet of the game, once again guiding the Bucks to the NBA's top overall record.
“Giannis, in our minds, has done more than enough to deserve a back-to-back MVP,” Budenholzer told reporters on July 17 “What he does for us on both ends of the court, what he does every night, the way he sets the bar for us, culture-wise, work ethic-wise, just as a teammate. He’s an incredible teammate, plays unselfishly, does everything. And I think that’s kind of what the MVP is, so we certainly feel like he’s very deserving, and we’ll be excited to support him.”
LeBron’s contextual and narrative brilliance -- could he really be this good, this dominant and this impactful in the mighty Western Conference 17 years in? -- would provide a decided edge in this race in a normal setting. But the raw, fearless and kinetic brilliance Giannis brought every night is hard to top.
As spectacular as LeBron’s season was, Giannis was even more impressive; he could join Michael Jordan and Hakeem Olajuwon on the short list of players to win MVP and Defensive Player of the Year in the same season.
"I want to be one of the best players to ever play the game," Antetokounmpo told reporters during a media availability session earlier this month. "I did the best job I could do trying to stay ready and trying to have my team ready for this journey that we're about to go on to leave and play games. But as I said, whoever wants it more, whoever is mentally prepared for all this, what's going on in Orlando, that's the team that's gonna come out on top.”
Antetokounmpo had one request after winning his first MVP: he didn’t want to hear anything about it as he readied for an encore.
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