The race for the MVP | Scorers do damage

For more than a decade now, DNA of Sports has been offering you its Top 5 candidates for the “Most Valuable Player” trophy (MVP)”. For our second race, we decided to focus on the crazy scoring performances of the NBA forwards.

Currently, after three weeks of competition, there are no less than seven players (!) who have at least 30 points on average: Luka Doncic (36.0), Stephen Curry (32.6), Giannis Antetokounmpo (31.8), Jayson Tatum (31.2), Donovan Mitchell (31.2), Kevin Durant (31.0) and finally Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (30.8).

If they each maintain such pace offensively, or if more are added to this list, it will quite simply be the first time in history that so many players have scored more than 30 points per game on a season. For now, the record all time date of the 1961/62 exercise, when they were six to average at least 30 points: Wilt Chamberlain (50.4), Elgin Baylor (38.3), Walt Bellamy (31.6), Bob Pettit (31.1), Oscar Robertson (30.8 ) and finally Jerry West (30.8).

Suffice to say that the scorers have been talking about the powder, and not just a little, since the recovery. Because, on a case-by-case basis, there are also several of them who have achieved a historic start and above all show no signs of slowing down…

Luka Doncic in the footsteps of Wilt Chamberlain

This is particularly the case of Luka Doncic, left on “Chamberlesque” bases. In nine games, he actually never fell below 30 points, his “smallest” total being 31 points! Hence the “Chamberlesque” basics, because a series of nine straight outings above 30 points to start a season had not been seen since that, record, of Wilt Chamberlain in 1962/63: 23 consecutive games 30 points or more to start the exercise!

In addition, if he continues his momentum, the Slovenian Mavericks can become the fourth player in history to complete a campaign with a minimum of 35 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists on average. Joining Wilt Chamberlain (1963/64), Michael Jordan (1987/88) and James Harden (2018/19) in this ultra-closed circle…

But Luka Doncic is not the only one to hit so far. For example, despite their mixed collective results, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant seem for their part able to integrate the Top 3 of the oldest players to end a season with at least 30 points per game. At 34 both, they don’t have the possibility of catching the 37 years of LeBron James (2021/22), but they can already do better than the 32 years of Michael Jordan (1995/96) and… Curry himself (2020/21).

Moreover, thanks to their insane efficiency in the shoot (the famous ” true shooting percentage ”, or TS%), the Warriors point guard (68.5 TS%) and the Nets winger (64.1 TS%) are even more formidable than in what is often considered the best campaign of their careers: 2015 /16 for Stephen Curry and 2013/14 for Kevin Durant. Where they respectively shot 30.1 points and 32.0 points per game, with a “ true shooting percentage » of 66.9% for Curry and 63.5% for Durant…

Moreover, not content with displaying for the moment the highest point average of his career and being more efficient than ever, Stephen Curry is on track to sign a new exercise in the club of address of ” 50/40/90” (50% shooting, 40% 3-point and 90% throwing) and to do so by scoring over 30 points per game. Just that!

Donovan Mitchell’s start with a bang

How can we not also mention the cannon starts of Jayson Tatum and Donovan Mitchell ? At the heart of their sixth year in the league, the two comrades of the 2017 Draft blaze as rarely with Boston and Cleveland, to the point of establishing themselves as serious underdogs for the title of MVP.

On the one hand, the Celtics winger is currently breaking the record for the highest scoring average by a Celtics player, held by Larry Bird (29.9) since 1987/88. Without surprise, “Taco Jay” is therefore the one with the most points (312) in a C’s jersey after ten games, ahead of Sam Jones (295 in 1965/66) and John Havlicek (281 in 1970/71).

On the other, the Cavs guard is making a dream start in Ohio, racking up no less than 281 points in nine games. So much so that only Wilt Chamberlain scored more points than “Spida” during its first nine outings in its new colors : 345, in 1959/60 (his rookie year…)!

Finally, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander also have the best point average of their careers. If he maintains his stats of 30+ points, 10+ rebounds and 5+ assists, the “Greek Freak” would even become the sixth player in history, and only the second since the ABA/NBA merger, to post such numbers over a season. As for “SGA”, he would reinforce his status as the third best player in the Thunder era, behind Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, the only two other players to exceed the 30 point mark per game over a campaign…

While it is obviously not guaranteed that the various players previously named will keep the same pace in attack, throughout this 2022/23 financial year, the fact remains that this one started on historical bases in scoring. So historic that they could, for example, allow Giannis Antetokounmpo, Luka Doncic, Donovan Mitchell or Jayson Tatum to succeed Nikola Jokicin the shoes of the MVP…

Race to the MVP 2023: our Top 5

1 – Giannis Antetokounmpo (Bucks)
Assessment: 9 wins, 1 loss – 1st in the East.
Matches: 9 disputed out of 10 possible.
Statistics: 31.8 pts, 12.2 reb, 5.3 pds, 1.1 int, 1.4 ctr and 3.3 pdb in 33 min.
Percentages: 54% on shots, 27% at 3-pts and 65% on throws.

2 – Luka Doncic (Mavericks)
Assessment: 6 wins, 3 losses – 5th in the West.
Matches: 9 disputed out of 9 possible.
Statistics: 36.0 pts, 8.4 reb, 8.3 pds, 1.9 int, 0.6 ctr and 3.6 pdb in 37 min.
Percentages: 52% on shots, 30% at 3-pts and 78% on throws.

3 – Donovan Mitchell (Riders)
Assessment: 8 wins, 2 losses – 2nd in the East.
Matches: 9 disputed out of 10 possible.
Statistics: 31.2 pts, 4.1 reb, 6.0 pds, 1.3 int, 0.7 ctr and 3.4 pdb in 39 min.
Percentages: 51% shooting, 45% 3-pt and 86% throwing.

4 – Jayson Tatum (Celtics)
Assessment: 7 wins, 3 losses – 3rd in the East.
Matches: 10 disputed out of 10 possible.
Statistics: 31.2 pts, 7.5 reb, 4.0 pds, 0.8 int, 1.5 ctr and 2.7 pdb in 38 min.
Percentages: 50% shooting, 37% 3-pt and 88% throwing.

5 – Nikola Jokic (Nuggets)
Assessment: 7 wins, 3 losses – 4th in the West.
Matches: 10 disputed out of 10 possible.
Statistics: 20.9 pts, 10.5 reb, 9.3 pds, 1.4 int, 0.7 ctr and 3.6 pdb in 33 min.
Percentages: 61% shooting, 24% 3-point and 88% throwing.

Mentions : Devin Booker (Suns), Pascal Siakam (Raptors), Ja Morant (Grizzlies), Trae Young and Dejounte Murray (Hawks), Damian Lillard (Blazers), Lauri Markkanen (Jazz), Paul George (Clippers)…