Jokic snubbed in all-star draft, but favored to win third straight MVP
There's no shortage of MVP candidates in the NBA this season, but what happened Sunday during the all-star draft was interesting.
Denver center Nikola Jokic has won the past two MVP awards and is the heavy betting favorite to win his third in a row. When it came time for all-star captains LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo to divide the starters, though, Jokic was chosen ninth, ahead of only Lauri Markkanen.
Was a message sent about the MVP award? James made Philadelphia's Joel Embiid the first starter chosen, then Antetokounmpo took Boston's Jayson Tatum.
The truth is Jokic, Embiid and Tatum are all solid MVP candidates, as are Antetokounmpo and Dallas' Luka Doncic. There are no wrong answers.
Jokic is down slightly in points and rebounds, compared to last season, but way up in assists and field-goal percentage. He ranks third in the league in assists per game and is averaging a triple-double as a center.
Just as impressive, Denver has a five-game lead for first place in the West and is just a game behind Boston for the NBA's best record.
There have been three three-peats for NBA MVP - Larry Bird from 1984-86, Wilt Chamberlain from 1966-68 and Bill Russell from 1961-63.
Anyone who feels like Jokic shouldn't join that exclusive group probably should have voted for Embiid last year, when his candidacy seemed to fade in the final weeks of the season.
It's really hard to separate this group, but there will be five spaces on the ballot. So the vote here for all-star break MVP goes like this: 1. Jokic, 2. Embiid, 3. Tatum, 4. Antetokounmpo, 5. Doncic.
Here's a look at the leaders for the other awards.
Coach of the year:
The biggest surprise at this point of the season has to be Sacramento, currently third in the West. Using that logic, the best coaching job was done by the Kings' Mike Brown. He won the award in 2009 with Cleveland, but is a long way from matching Hubie Brown's 26 years between coach of the year wins. 1. Brown; 2. Mike Malone, Nuggets; 3. J.B. Bickerstaff, Cavs.
Sixth man award:
An argument could be made for Russell Westbrook after he averaged 16.2 points, 7.7 assists and 6.1 rebounds for the Lakers. But since the Lakers tried hard to get rid of him, let's assume he won't get many first-place votes. Ex-Bull Bobby Portis (13.5 points, 9.7 rebounds) has a good chance, while Boston's Malcolm Brogdon will get some support. 1. Portis, Bucks; 2. Brogdon; 3. Westbrook.
Defensive player of the year:
This is a subjective award, but a good place to start is to look for the best defensive rating on one of the best defensive teams. In that case, Memphis' Jaren Jackson Jr. is an easy choice. He leads in defensive rating and blocked shots by a wide margin. 1. Jackson; 2. Brook Lopez, Bucks; 3. Caris LeVert, Cavs.
Rookie of the year:
This one is obvious. 1. Paolo Banchero, Magic; 2. Bennedict Mathurin, Pacers; 3. Jaden Ivey, Pistons.
Most improved:
This should be a two-man race between Utah's Lauri Markkanen and Oklahoma City's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. While Gilgeous-Alexander made the jump from star to superstar, Markkanen had a bigger increase, from 14.8 to 24.9 ppg. Former Stevenson superstar Jalen Brunson made a nice jump too after moving from Dallas to New York. 1. Markkanen; 2. Gilgeous-Alexander; 3. Brunson.
All-NBA first team: First of all, are they doing frontcourt-backcourt this year, or guards, forwards, center? It makes a big difference. Let's go with frontcourt, backcourt. Doncic, Damian Lillard, Blazers; Tatum, Embiid, Jokic.
All-NBA second team: Gilgeous-Alexander, Ja Morant, Grizzlies; Antetokounmpo; James; Kevin Durant, Suns.
All-NBA third team: Steph Curry, Warriors; Donovan Mitchell, Cavs; Jackson, Jr.; Domantas Sabonis, Kings; Julius Randle, Knicks.
Twitter: @McGrawDHSports