NBA MVP Ladder: Russell Westbrook Is In Video Game Mode

May 10, 2016; San Antonio, TX, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook (0) drives to the basket as San Antonio Spurs small forward Kawhi Leonard (2) defends in game five of the second round of the NBA Playoffs at AT&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports
May 10, 2016; San Antonio, TX, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook (0) drives to the basket as San Antonio Spurs small forward Kawhi Leonard (2) defends in game five of the second round of the NBA Playoffs at AT&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports
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May 2, 2016; San Antonio, TX, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder point guard
May 2, 2016; San Antonio, TX, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder point guard

As the NBA season has fully kicked into gear, the first look at the MVP Ladder is here. Who is going to take home the hardware?

On the first of every month, a new and updated MVP Ladder will be released as we continue to watch for the player who takes home the coveted Maurice Podoloff trophy at the end of the season.

The Most Valuable Player award is prestigious award that ultimately determines the best player from the NBA regular season. There are countless variables that go into winning the award, but the two main variables are winning and individual performance. While there are many cases for many different players, the biggest factor taken into consideration is winning.

Since 1988, no NBA MVP has belonged to a team outside of the top two teams, in wins, in his respective conference. As much as winning is looked at, individual performance plays a large role as well.

The MVP Ladder is a snapshot of the NBA season, in other words, if the season ended today this is how the players would rank in the MVP race.

With that being said, let’s get to it.