NBA Predictions: Who Will Be League MVP?

The Outsiders

After Harden and Westbrook, most voters drop down to the usual tier of Steph Curry or LeBron James as two recent winners of the MVP award and still very much in the conversation. Our staff, however, believes that the award will belong to someone new this season.

Kevin Durant

“Although Kevin Durant has won an MVP award before (2014), he is considered an outside shot by many because of the super team he has joined. With Curry, Draymond Green, and Klay Thompson all requiring their part of the offense, it is hard to imagine that KD will be as good a player as he was in OKC.

That being said, I am a believer that Westbrook and Durant were no longer on the same page and were dragging each other down in a lot of ways. This new situation will give Curry a chance to become a more traditional point guard, which suits him much better than it did Russ.

There is no real reason for me to believe KD will make a jump this year, but I think he will be the clear best player on the clear best team at the end of the season. That is usually enough to sway the voters to send him an MVP award.”

– Kohl Rast

Paul George

“It’s hard not to go with Russell Westbrook here, as he will do literally everything for OKC, or any given year LeBron is a solid choice. However, I think Paul George is gonna surprise some people this year. George can score, facilitate, and defend with the NBA’s elite. He now has the pieces around him to be a force in the Eastern Conference, and will lead them to a top 3 seed and win MVP.”

– Sam Casey

Damian Lillard

“Damian Lillard. I love this guy. He’s certainly one of my favorite players. So, there may be a little bias involved here. But, the guy can play. He’s came out recently and said he thinks he can play at an MVP level, and I agree. He also doesn’t have too much around him that will take away from his production. He should have to carry this team to the playoffs, and he’ll have a good shot at the award if he is able to successfully do that.”

– Austin Denius

Blake Griffin

“My pick might surprise some, but Blake Griffin is my choice. Historically, you have to finish as one of the top 2-3 seeds in your conference, so then I start eliminating. Durant and Curry will even each other out like many expect. LeBron is a popular pick, but I think he will not only rest some this season, but try to take a back seat role to Kyrie. Kyrie is another sneaky pick also.”

– Isaac Harris

Next: Dallas Mavericks Dilemma: What to Do with Justin Anderson

Clearly our staff has a lot of different predictions on who will be the NBA MVP at the end of the season. Many players will make their case, but only time will tell.