by Where Jayson Tatum ranks in ESPN’s first-ever NBA MVP poll originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
About a third of the 2024-25 NBA season has been played, so it’s a good time to look at the top candidates for major individual awards.
None of them spark more heated debate than the league’s MVP, and there’s no shortage of candidates this season.
ESPN NBA writer Tim Bontemps conducts several league MVP polls each season, and the voters are members of the media, many of whom will end up having a real vote for the award.
Bontemps released the results of its first poll on Friday, and Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic is unsurprisingly in first place. He received first place on 57 of the 100 ballots.
Here’s a look at the top 5 from Bontemps’ first straw poll:
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Nikola Jokic, DEN: 827 total points (57 first places)
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Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, OKC: 678 (24 first place finishers)
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Giannis Antetokounmpo, MIL: 643 (19 first place finishers)
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Jayson Tatum, BOS: 267
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Luka Doncic, DAL: 123
Jokic has won three of the four previous MVP awards, including last season. Jokic has a strong case to win the title again and if he does, he will join Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (six), Michael Jordan (five), Bill Russell (five), LeBron James (four) and Wilt Chamberlain (four) are the only players to have won MVP four or more times.
Jokic is averaging nearly a triple-double with 31 points, 13 rebounds and 9.8 assists per game while shooting 56.4 percent from the floor and 50 percent from 3-point range.
However, he has plenty of competition for this year’s award, including some players who have never won the MVP title before.
One of them is Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum. The veteran forward leads the Celtics in points (28.3), rebounds (9.0), assists (5.5) and steals (1.2) per game. He is the best player on the best team in the league.
Unfortunately, because he plays with so many good players, it will be very difficult for Tatum to put up the eye-popping stats that are often needed to win this award.
The last Celtics player to win the league’s MVP was Larry Bird in 1985–86. It was the third of three straight MVP awards for Bird. Tatum will be nominated for MVP throughout his career, and he might even win it at some point. But the most important thing for Tatum and the Celtics is winning championships.
They achieved this goal last season and are determined to achieve it again in June.
