(Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images for SiriusXM)
We’ve officially entered the most crucial stretch of the NBA season.
That means the MVP race is going to get tighter than ever.
Joel Embiid looked like a lock to take the award home for the second time in as many seasons, but his knee injury ended his chances because of the league’s eligibility rule.
Notably, there are more than enough legitimate candidates to earn the distinction, and it feels like it could go either way.
With that in mind, Shannon Sharpe and Stephen A. Smith shared their top MVP candidates on the latest edition of “First Take,” and they both agreed on the same names: Nikola Jokic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Jayson Tatum.
.@ShannonSharpe and @stephenasmith share their top three NBA MVP candidates pic.twitter.com/bqPcHYSTdO
— First Take (@FirstTake) February 26, 2024
Jokic was Embiid’s toughest competition last season, and some believe he should’ve won his third consecutive MVP.
The Denver Nuggets haven’t been as dominant this season, but they’re still the reigning NBA champions, and Jokic continues to play like the best player on Earth, being a nightly triple-double threat.
SGA has the Oklahoma City Thunder in contention to be the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference, which seemed impossible two years ago.
He’s also playing hard on both ends of the floor, which isn’t usual in today’s game.
As for Tatum, he’s the best player on the best team in the league, and that also has to count for something.
The end of the season will be one for the ages, and it’s almost impossible to make a prediction about who’ll take the statue home this time.
The post Stephen A. Smith, Shannon Sharpe Name Their Top-3 NBA MVP Candidates appeared first on The Cold Wire.