7. Yao Ming, Houston PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% FT% 25.0 9.4 2.0 0.4 2.0 .517 .862 Yao’s statistics last season were off the charts – 25 points, 9.4 rebounds and almost two blocks per game for the Rockets, who were one of the elite teams. That’s the positive. The negative is that the big fella can’t seem to stay healthy. He only played in 48 games last year and managed to be on the floor for just 57 the season before. 1. Kevin Garnett, Boston PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% FT% 22.4 12.8 4.1 1.2 1.7 .476 .835 KG was already a stud in the big man-rich Western Conference and now he comes over to the big man-poor East. Garnett will dominate, the Celtics will be the most improved team in the league and because of the emotion he displays on the court and what he has accomplished, there is no doubt who Boston’s leader will be. Sounds like a winning MVP formula to me. We’ll see. 2. LeBron James, Cleveland PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% FT% 27.3 6.7 6.0 1.6 0.7 .476 .698 It’s a good thing for Nowitzki that the MVP was awarded before the postseason instead of afterwards because it would have been King James holding up the Maurice Podoloff Trophy. As brilliant as his regular season was, James showed that he is capable of even more when he carried Cleveland to The Finals. 3. Steve Nash, Phoenix PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% FT% 18.6 3.5 11.6 0.8 0.1 .532 .899 Nash has put the fun back in basketball. Am I the only one who would love to see him play in a game on one of those mix tapes? His decision making is perfect, he shoots at a high percentage and other than defense, there really isn’t a flaw in his game. For the fourth consecutive season, he will be a serious MVP contender. 4. Kobe Bryant, L.A. Lakers PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% FT% 31.6 5.7 5.4 1.4 0.5 .463 .869 If I were simply ranking the top players in the league then Bryant would have probably been in the alpha male spot. He is the most talented player in the league and hopefully this is the season where he makes the Lakers into serious contenders in the West. 5. Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% FT% 24.6 8.9 3.4 0.7 0.8 .502 .904 When the 2006-07 regular season ended, Nowitzki was the MVP. Forget about Dallas’ playoff flop, he deserved the award. He needs to come out more aggressive this season, attacking the basket instead of settling for jumpers in order to quiet some of the naysayers. 6. Tim Duncan, San Antonio PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% FT% 20.0 10.6 3.4 0.8 2.4 .546 .637 Yawn! All this guy does is score 20 points and grab 10 rebounds a game and win championship after championship.
Oops, almost forgot this http://www.nba.com/features/player_rankings.html That was the list of legitimate MVP contenders, here's the list of sleepers Sleepers (MVP potential if everything goes their way) 8. Carmelo Anthony (DEN): 28.9 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 3.8 APG - Despite the presence of Allen Iverson, Anthony is still the face of the Nuggets. He averaged career highs in points and assists last year. 9. Gilbert Arenas (WAS): 28.5 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 6.0 APG - Agent Zero had season-ending knee surgery in April, but he will be healthy by the time the regular season rolls around. Although he plays the point, a scoring title isn’t out of reach. 10. Chris Bosh (TOR): 22.6 PPG, 10.7 RPG, 1.3 BPG - After averaging double-digits in boards for the first time for Atlantic Division-winning Toronto, it is scary to think how much better this young stud can become. 11. Jason Kidd (NJN): 13.0 PPG, 8.2 RPG, 9.2 APG - Proof that age is nothing but a number, this 34-year old averaged a triple-double in the postseason last season. 12. Tracy McGrady (HOU): 24.6 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 6.5 APG - Normally I think it hurts a player's chances to win MVP when they have to split the votes with a teammate. T-Mac is the exception to the rule. When Yao Ming was sidelined last season with an injury, he was the biggest reason the Rockets stayed near the front of the pack. When his back isn't acting up, there are few players who are better.13. Carlos Boozer (UTA): 20.9 PPG, 11.7 RPG, 3.0 APG - Boozer and Deron Williams brought back memories of John Stockton and Karl Malone in Utah. Boozer had the best season of his life. What will he do for an encore? 14. Dwight Howard (ORL): 17.6 PPG, 12.3 RPG, 1.9 BPG - He hasn’t missed a game yet in his three-year career and his points per game has gone up each season. He shoots at a 60-percent clip and pulls down 12 boards a game. Maybe Garnett should be considered the second best big in the East? 15. Dwyane Wade (MIA): 27.4 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 7.5 APG - A shoulder injury that is going to cost him the first month of the season is giving D-Wade’s MVP campaign a late start. 16. Baron Davis (GSW): 20.1 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 8.1 APG - The only thing that can slow down Davis is injuries and for the past five seasons that has been the case. As he showed in the postseason, he should be mentioned with Nash, Arenas and Kidd for top point guard honors. 17. Chauncey Billups (DET): 17.0 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 7.2 APG - On a team full of All-Stars, Billups has emerged as the face of the franchise. He commits very few turnovers and hits big shots. There's a lot to like about his game. 18. Chris Paul (NOH): 17.3 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 8.9 APG - Paul had surgery on his left foot at the end of last season. If he returns at full speed and the Hornets -- who are playing all of their games in New Orleans this season --make the postseason, he could find himself rapidly climbing up the rankings. 19. Jermaine O'Neal (IND): 19.4 PPG, 9.6 RPG, 2.6 BPG - If O’Neal is happy and motivated, expect the same type of superstar numbers he has provided since arriving in Indiana seven seasons ago. 20. Luol Deng (CHI): 18.8 PPG, 7.1 RPG, 2.5 APG - He took the next step towards stardom last season, posting career numbers across the board. He is one of the most well-rounded forwards in the league and he topped a good regular season with a great postseason. 21. Zach Randolph (NYK): 23.7 PPG, 10.1 RPG, 2.2 APG - I know it was only one preseason game and that Eddy Curry didn’t play, but all signs are positive after Randolph scored 17 points on 70 percent shooting in New York’s win over Philadelphia on Monday.
Let's wait for the season to actually begin first. Preseason projections and predictions are less than worthless.
No kidding! I just... can't... take another V-Span thread, man. I can't! Idle speculation about MVP candidates is wayyy better.
KG's always at the top of the list of candidates throughout the years despite being on a sucky team. PP and Allen have not. It makes sense if he's on a winning team he will be again. No doubt KG is the best player of the 3.
i was hanging around other basketball forums the other day, and heard people describing the celtics having 2 stars. KG is the first one, Pierce and Allen r each .5
MVP needs outstanding contributions to his team and also crazy stat lines. KG has to share the ball with Pierce and Allen. I am not as optimistic as the author.
KG and LeBron are my top 2 picks for MVP. If Kobe gets traded to the Bulls, he might belong up there too.
I'm not gonna bet on Luol Deng but I thought he should be higher than 20. I like the Bulls a lot right now, if their record is good enough I think Deng could be in the top 5 or 10. Someone with a bigger name like Lebron or Kobe will actually win it though
Even if KG put up his usual stats this season, yet the Celtics win around 50 games, I can see him winning it. Something like Nash's first season in Phoenix.
*If Kobe is traded, he will win it wherever he goes. *Otherwise, Garnett is my favorite. They will win over 50 games, and it will be the feel good story of the year (he's old and the Celtics are finally relevant). *The big darkhorse is Yao.
I think Yao will win the MVP, if misses less than 12 to 14 games, and the Rockets finish in the top 3 teams in conference.
You can put this in the bank: Yao will be a top 3 MVP contender this season. He was a legit last season till he got hurt. This season, RA will let Yao play more freely and take 15'-18' J's. Plus we all know Yao is a great passer so that part of his game will now have a chance to shine too. Yao looks GREAT in preseason in limited minutes. If you are a fantasy guy, pick Yao. I doubt Yao will win MVP because it's hard when you have two big stars on one team to share the limelight. But Yao is gonna kill people this season.
Kobe for MVP is hilarious. He's the best player in the NBA but it says" if he makes Lakers serious contenders in West". Right now they are serious contenders for not entering the playoffs which will be chaos Kobers...arr I mean Lakers...
