1. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks
Season stats:29.6 points, 13.7 rebounds, 5.8 assists, 1.0 steals, 1.0 blocks
That collective groan you heard Tuesday was front office personnel and coaches from the other playoff teams on the NBA campus in Orlando watching clips of Antetokounmpo’s improved shooting stroke from 3-point range. It’s the final part of his game that needs polishing so he can become the rest of the league’s biggest nightmare. The Bucks’ hopes for a championship run this season rest squarely on the broad shoulders of "The Greek Freak," whose relentless work ethic has fueled his rise to the top of this list for a second straight season. A virtually unstoppable two-way force with a still-evolving offensive arsenal, he improved his 3-point shooting (30.6%) to become just enough of a threat from deep to force teams to pick their poison in guarding him. His rapid rise from a relatively obscure Greek pro league to NBA MVP status is one of the great stories in sports history. Best of all, he’s only a few chapters in at this stage of his career.
2. LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers
Season stats:25.7 points, 7.9 rebounds, 10.6 assists, 1.2 steals
LeBron wins this season’s narrative award. Seventeen seasons into his NBA Mount Rushmore career, James led the league in assists and remains (in the eyes of many) the NBA's most dominant force. He's returned a proud Lakers franchise to contender status in a rich comeback story not even Hollywood could have penned. LeBron has been refining his game longer than some of his MVP competitors have been playing competitively ... and in some cases (Luka Doncic), nearly as long as they’ve been dribbling a ball. The Lakers have the look of a true contender with LeBron and All-Star big man Anthony Davis joining forces to become the league's most dynamic duo. The Lakers’ struggles without LeBron this season might be the best exhibit of his MVP talents. Any doubts about him being able to perform at an elite level at his advanced NBA age have been silenced\
3. Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks
Season stats:28.7 points, 9.3 rebounds, 8.7 assists, 1.1 steals
Doncic went from dazzling as a rookie to downright dominant in his sophomore season, from runaway Kia Rookie of the Year to All-Star starter. The best part in Dallas is that he’s taken the Mavericks along for the ride, returning them to the Western Conference playoff mix for the foreseeable future. It took Jason Kidd 500 career games to set the franchise triple-double mark. Doncic needed just 119 games to catch and pass him, with 21 before his 21st birthday. And who says lightning can’t strike the same place twice? Doncic is owner Mark Cuban’s dream replacement for franchise icon Dirk Nowitzki and Doncic is a hybrid built perfectly for this era. He has LeBron James-like playmaking skills with James Harden’s scoring instincts. His sidekick, Kristaps Porzingis, played like an All-Star during the second half of his first season back from knee surgery. They are the clearest danger to the Lakers’ pair as the league’s most dynamic jumbo-sized duo.
4. James Harden, Houston Rockets
Season stats:34.4 points, 6.4 rebounds, 7.4 assists, 1.7 steals
Harden and Rockets GM Daryl Morey are convinced that the NBA's best player has worn a Rockets uniform for years now. But it’s only been reflected once in the Kia MVP balloting. Given how Russell Westbrook has performed in his first season in Houston, there's a strong argument that Harden hasn’t even been the best player on his own team since mid-January. Undoubtedly, Harden is one of the greatest NBA scorers ever and has shown himself to be an extraordinary playmaker. The only real knock on Harden, aside from his situational indifference on defense, is that he’s struggled to carry his regular-season brilliance into the playoffs. Fair or not, that reputation seems to consistently poke holes in the MVP narrative the Rockets coordinate for him every season. In an era filled some of the greatest scorers and two-way stars, a one-dimensional superstar like Harden keeps coming up a bit short of the biggest prize.
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