Welcome to BetFTW’s NBA MVP ladder for the 2023-2024 season. Down the stretch, we’ll track where the wind is blowing for the biggest individual regular-season award in the league every week. Without further ado, here’s our latest tracker update.
There are less than two weeks left in the 2023-2024 NBA regular season, and make no mistake, almost nothing is settled. In the West, seeding for the top-10 teams will likely come down to game No. 82. In the East, a pivotal race for the No. 2 seed still needs the dust to settle. On an individual basis, perhaps most importantly, we’ve still got an MVP to talk about!
At this stage, of course, there are probably only two players worth talking about when it comes to MVP: Nikola Jokic and Luka Doncic. The two stars have played so well while leading contending teams that they’ve effectively made this a two-horse race as we near the regular season’s finish line. We’ve talked a lot about their close friendship and connection in the past. It’s great to see the dynamic between the Denver Nuggets’ talisman and the Dallas Mavericks’ cornerstone finally bleed over into the court in an extremely competitive sense.
Perhaps when all this MVP nonsense is settled, they’ll even give us an appropriate encore later this spring. And when I say spring, I mean deep into the spring. Let’s take stock of the latest MVP ladder and see how Jokic and Doncic stack up against each other. All odds courtesy of DraftKings.
10
Devin Booker, Phoenix Suns (Off The Board)
Daniel Dunn-USA TODAY Sports
Last week: 7
In a big and important week for the Suns, Booker dropped not one but two stinker shooting performances. Phoenix looks like a team that can make a legitimate run in the Western Conference, but not with an invisible Booker.
9
Kevin Durant, Phoenix Suns (Off The Board)
Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports
Last week: 10
After his offensive production cratered for a bit, Durant has returned in full force. He closed the month of March with four straight games of at least 25 points while shooting an incredibly efficient 65 percent from the field.
8
LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers (Off The Board)
Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
Last week: 9
The Lakers are a solid 12-7 since the All-Star Break. They’re on pace for 46 wins and might be a threat in the West if they can survive the play-in tournament. This is all a credit to James, who has been his usual triple-double adjacent steadying rock of late. Oh, he also now holds the record for the most games of at least 30 points in league history.
7
Domantas Sabonis, Sacramento Kings (Off The Board)
Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports
Last week: 8
Two beatings at the hands of the Dallas Mavericks aside, Sabonis’s Kings have been doing their job. Without proficient sixth man Malik Monk, Sacramento likely won’t make much noise in the postseason. But Sabonis continues to anchor a team that has given some league heavyweights intermittent headaches now and then all year.
6
Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics (+10000)
Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports
Last week: 5
Having virtually clinched homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs, the Celtics are firmly in coast mode. While that’s great for their title hopes, it’s horrible for Tatum’s MVP case, who probably needed another marvelous few weeks to even have a chance.
5
Anthony Edwards, Minnesota Timberwolves (Off The Board)
Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports
Last week: 6
The Timberwolves have been without Karl-Anthony Towns for over three weeks and are still in the running for the No. 1 seed in the West. That is a testament to their sound team, but more importantly, to Edwards’ individual greatness as he’s shouldered more offensive responsibility. Edwards will ultimately not have the raw individual numbers to win his first career MVP, but he’s only 22. Winning one sometime in the future feels very possible.
4
Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks (+10000)
Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
Last week: 3
Antetokounmpo’s had a fantastic season for a team that will likely finish with the East’s No. 2 seed. There’s no denying that. But his MVP priors will probably be cemented by a horrific free throw shooting performance in an instant classic loss to the Lakers last week. Ah, well. Milwaukee’s ambitions extend to the coming spring anyway.
3
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder (+2000)
John Jones-USA TODAY Sports
Last week: 2
A quad contusion has clearly hampered Gilgeous-Alexander of late. The Thunder star has missed two of his last four games and has otherwise been merely average when he has actually played. Oklahoma City must now balance letting Gilgeous-Alexander get some rest for the playoffs or exacerbating his recent slump at the worst possible time.
2
Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks (+500)
Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Last week: 4
There is no hotter NBA player than Doncic right now. The forward has been on an absolute tear, playing like a perfect offensive dynamo, while Dallas has won nine of its last ten games. The Mavericks suddenly resemble a legitimate Western power, and that’s all thanks to Doncic’s trademark brilliance. Truly, no one in either conference would much like to play the Mavericks because of Doncic right now.
1
Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets (-700)
Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
Last week: 1
After a somewhat middling week for his reigning champion Nuggets — who may or may not be ramping down to have the energy to defend their title — it would’ve been easy for Jokic to throw in the towel and wait for April 20. A sore lower back. A sore wrist. His top running mate (Jamal Murray) temporarily on the shelf with the playoffs in mind. And a stout Cleveland Cavaliers team visiting for an Easter Sunday matinee. Jokic had a laundry list of excuses not to bring it.
Instead, the superstar center dropped a sublime 26 points, 18 rebounds, and 16 assists while shooting 61 percent from the field against an elite defensive team in a comfortable blowout win. Jokic is the first to drop that kind of stat line since the legendary Oscar Robertson did it in 1965. Phew. It’s also Jokic’s third game of at least 25 points, 15 rebounds, and 15 assists this season. Phew.
The calculus remains the same. If Jokic brings his absolute best, the Nuggets are an unstoppable machine, literally every member of his supporting cast plays significantly better, and they are a clear favorite to win their second consecutive championship. If he’s off, Denver is vulnerable. The definition of an MVP. The Serbian big man has his likely third career MVP award all but locked up.
