The race for the NBA MVP: Embiid and Jokic edging out competition

As teams make a final push for playoff positioning Only a few more chances remain for the NBA’s MVP candidates to pad their stats and impress voters before the regular season comes to a close. Will Joel Embiid dethrone Nikola Jokic? Will it be the Greek Freak winning his third title? Or will Jayson Tatum’s late charge be enough to win the league’s Most Valuable Player award?

This is the progress of the five top candidates up until Tuesday, April 5.

Joel Embiid

Talking about ending with a bang. Joel Embiid was already the favorite for the trophy after his body of work throughout the first 20-some-odd weeks spoke for themselves. What he has done over the last week let’s you know just how intent he is on winning this award. The Sixers played four games over the last week, and Embiid scored no less than 29 points and grabbed no fewer than 14 rebounds in any of those games. His top performance came in the Sixers last game when Embiid put up 44 points and 17 rebounds. He has overtaken LeBron James in the scoring title chase at 32.2 ppg and is keeping Philly in the hunt for the one seed in the East. The Sixers big man said he’s not sure what else he can do to win the award according to recent statements made to the media.

Season stats: 30.2 ppg, 11.6 rebounds and 4.2 assists.

Nikola Jokic

Out of nowhere the reigning MVP has jumped the Nuggets out of the Play-In position they were briefly in to fifth in the West. While they will probably fall short of the four seed and home court in the first round of the playoffs, Jokic has put the team on his back all season, but kicked it into over drive in recent weeks. In the three games that propelled the Nuggets into a top 5 position in the West Jokic scored 37 against the Pacers and then 38 against the Timberwolves and Lakers while averaging almost 17 rebounds and 8 assists.

Season stats: 26.8 points, 13.7 rebounds and 8 assists.

Giannis Antetokounmpo

The Bucks started the week with two massive wins over tough Eastern Conference opponents and potential playoffs rivals. Giannis put up back to back 40 points performances in the wins over the Sixers and the Nets, while snatching 14 rebounds and dishing six assists in each game all the while becoming the Bucks all-time leading scorer. Giannis sat in the next game at home against the Clippers, when Milwaukee got wiped out 153-119. He returned to action against Luka Doncic and the Mavs and posted 28 and 10 rebounds in the six point home loss. The Bucks still sit 2.5 games back of the Heat for the first seed the East.

Season stats: 30.1 points, 11.6 rebounds and 5.8 assists.

Ja Morant

There is no question that Ja Morant is one of the best players in the NBA. He can score, he can fly, he can ignite a stadium with his handles and spectacular slam dunks. His stats speak for themselves, but unfortunately for his MVP case, ending the season on the bench doesn’t help your chances at winning the award. What’s strange for the Grizzlies is that they don’t seem to miss their star and MVP candidate. The last game Memphis lost was the last game Ja played. Since that road loss in Atlanta, the Grizz have rattled off seven straight. While Morant and Memphis will be more than happy to see the team winning it won’t do much for his MVP case either.

Season stats: 27.6 points, 5.7 rebounds and 6.7 assists.

Jayson Tatum

Tatum sat the in the Celtics loss to the Raptors a bit over a week ago, but returned to the starting five to keep the C’s in with in arms reach of the top spot in the East. His numbers have dropped from the super human performances since his return at the end of last March. Tatum scored 23, 31 and 22 over the last few three games, which dropped his meteoric average over the last month down a few notches. The Celtics are two games back of the top seeded Heat with three games to go. His MVP credentials would increase drastically if Boston could snatch the one seed form Miami in the last games of the season.

Season stats: 27 points, 6.6 rebounds and 3 assists.