At this moment, the top 6 MVP candidates are Giannis, Durant, Jokic, Embiid, Curry, and LeBron. Demar Derozan deserves a lot of credit for his season, and so do guys like Ja and Gobert who are both top 10 right now. However, I believe that now is a great time to assess the MVP race and see where we stand halfway through the season. Below will be some stats for all the players, records, etc. and it’s up to you to decide who the MVP is right now.

Giannis Antetokounmpo • #34 • PF • Milwaukee Bucks

Record: 26-17, 3rd seed in East (22-12 with Giannis, 4-5 without him)

Basic Stats: 28.4 PPG (3rd), 11.4 RPG (2nd), 6 APG (4th), 1.1 SPG (T-4th), 1.4 BPG (T-1st), 3.4 TOPG (T-4th) in 32.5 MPG (6th)

Shooting splits: 54.1%(2nd)/28.4%(6th)/70%(6th)

Advanced Stats: 31.7 PER (2nd), 6.5 WS (1st), .284 WS/48 (1st), 10.8 BPM (2nd), 3.6 VORP (2nd) 13.8 On/Off +/- (3rd)

Kevin Durant • #7 • PF • Brooklyn Nets

Record: 25-14, 2nd seed in East (22-12 with Durant, 3-2 without him)

Basic Stats: 29.8 PPG (1st), 7.7 RPG (4th), 5.8 APG (5th), 0.7 SPG (6th), 1 BPG (4th), 3.1 TOPG (2nd) in 37.4 MPG (1st)

Shooting splits: 51.8%(4th)/36.2%(4th)/89.2%(2nd)

Advanced Stats: 25.6 PER (5th), 5.5 WS (3rd), .209 WS/48 (5th), 6.9 BPM (6th), 2.9 VORP (T-3rd) 2 On/Off +/- (6th)

Nikola Jokic • #15 • C • Denver Nuggets

Record: 20-19, 6th seed in West (19-15 with Jokic, 1-4 without him)

Basic Stats: 25.7 PPG (6th), 14.1 RPG (1st), 7 APG (1st), 1.4 SPG (1st), 0.8 BPG (5th), 3.6 TOPG (6th) in 32.8 MPG (5th)

Shooting splits: 56.3%(1st)/35.4%(5th)/77.2%(5th)

Advanced Stats: 32.2 PER (1st), 6.4 WS (2nd), .275 WS/48 (2nd), 13.4 BPM (1st), 4.3 VORP (T-3rd) 21.6 On/Off +/- (1st)

Joel Embiid • #21 • C • Philadelphia 76ers

Record: 23-16, 5th seed in East (20-8 with Embiid, 3-8 without him)

Basic Stats: 27 PPG (4th), 10.6 RPG (3rd), 4.4 APG (6th), 1.1 SPG (T-4th), 1.4 BPG (T-1st), 2.8 TOPG (1st) in 33 MPG (4th)

Shooting splits: 47.8%(5th)/38.5%(2nd)/81.4%(3rd)

Advanced Stats: 29.6 PER (3rd), 4.6 WS (6th), .241 WS/48 (3rd), 8 BPM (4th), 2.3 VORP (6th) 9.5 On/Off +/- (4th)

Steph Curry • #30 • PG • Golden State Warriors

Record: 30-10, 2nd seed in West (29-8 with Curry, 1-2 without him)

Basic Stats: 26.8 PPG (5th), 5.5 RPG (6th), 6.1 APG (3rd), 1.4 SPG (T-2nd), 0.5 BPG (6th), 3.4 TOPG (T-4th) in 34.8 MPG (3rd)

Shooting splits: 42.2%(6th)/38.7%(1st)/91.9%(1st)

Advanced Stats: 22.1 PER (6th), 5.1 WS (4th), .190 WS/48 (6th), 7 BPM (5th), 2.9 VORP (T-3rd) 16.9 On/Off +/- (3rd)

LeBron James • #23 • SF • Los Angeles Lakers

Record: 21-20, 7th seed in West (16-13 with LeBron, 5-7 without him)

Basic Stats: 28.9 PPG (2nd), 7.4 RPG (5th), 6.6 APG (2nd), 1.7 SPG (1st), 1.1 BPG (3rd), 3.3 TOPG (3rd) in 36.8 MPG (2nd)

Shooting splits: 52.8%(3rd)/37.2%(3rd)/78.5%(4th)

Advanced Stats: 27.5 PER (4th), 4.9 WS (5th), .221 WS/48 (4th), 8.7 BPM (6th), 2.9 VORP (T-3rd) 4.5 On/Off +/- (5th)

My personal selection for the MVP is Jokic, as he has carried a team depleted with injuries to the 6th seed. It is reminiscent of Westbrook’s 2017 MVP campaign, but he has better advanced stats, better efficiency, and just as little talent around him, with the injuries to Jamal and MPJ. Giannis would be my second choice and should Jokic drop to the 7 seed I think he would be my pick then, as he is one of the best in the league on both sides.