No one can argue that Denver Nuggets All-NBA and three-time MVP center Nikola Jokic isn’t having a great season.
As long as Jokic continues to post triple-double averages, he will be part of the 2024-25 NBA MVP discussion.
However, in this installment of NBA MVP power rankings, we’re going to take a look at wins and losses and where a team sits in the standings and give special consideration to MVP candidates whose teams are at or near the top of the standings.
Winning should mean something for MVP consideration. That doesn’t rule out Jokic or Giannis Antetokounmpo, and there’s plenty of time left in the season for the Nuggets and the Bucks to move up in the standings.
Here is the second installment of USA TODAY’s NBA MVP power rankings (stats and team records before Tuesday’s games):
5. Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic
It’s odd to say Luka Doncic is doing this quietly, given he is a statistical demon, but he has helped spark a massive run for the Mavericks, who have won seven consecutive games and 11 of their past 12. Dallas (16-8) has crawled back to tied for third in the West, and Doncic won the Western Conference Player of the Week award after he put up nearly 30 points per game and added 11.7 rebounds and 8.3 assists over that span.
4. Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo
After a 2-8 start, the Bucks are now 12-11, including a seven-game winning streak that has put the Bucks in sixth place in the East, and Antetokounmpo is right in the middle of Milwaukee’s ascent in the standings. Antetokounmpo leads the league in scoring (32.5 points per game), is No. 6 in rebounding (11.6 per game) and also averages 6.2 assists, 1.3 blocks and 61.1% from the field. Last season, he was the first player in NBA history to average at least 30 points on at least 60% shooting from the field, and he’s on pace to do it again this season.
3. Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum
The continuing knock against Jayson Tatum’s case for MVP is the sheer amount of talent and help he has on the 19-5 Celtics. With the return of Kristaps Porzingis, that has only become amplified. That’s why a pair of average performances recently — a 17-point game in which he went 1-of-10 on 3s in a loss against the Grizzlies and an 18-point night (3-of-12 from 3) in a victory against the Heat — slightly dull his chances when compared to others higher up on this list. Still, Tatum is having an efficient season (28.2 points, 8.9 rebounds, 5.7 assists per game, 45.3% shooting) for a team that looks like a real threat to repeat.
2. Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic
Nikola Jokic is on a sensational run, scoring 104 points and collecting 30 rebounds and dishing 16 assists in his past two games. That said, the Nuggets, who in seventh place in the West at 12-10, have hit a bit of a rough patch, losing seven of their last 12. Still, Denver would be lost without Jokic, who ranks second in the NBA in scoring (32.3 points per game) and first among qualifying players for player impact estimate (21.3), which is a comprehensive measurement of a player’s contribution which includes 13.6 rebounds, 10.2 assists and 1.8 steals per game and 56.1% shooting from the field for Jokic.
1. Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, 26, finished second in MVP voting last season, and he’s making a push to win his first MVP this season. The Thunder were 8-2 when Chet Holmgren was sidelined with a pelvic fracture. Since then, they are 10-3, and Gilgeous-Alexander has made sure the first-place Thunder (18-5) haven’t faltered. In those 13 games without Holmgren, Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 32.7 points, 6.5 assists, 4.8 rebounds, 1.9 steals and 1.0 blocks and is shooting 52.3% from the field and 36.4% on 3-pointers. For the season, he is the only player averaging at least 29 points, 6.0 assists, 5.0 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.0 blocks.