NBA MVP Ladder: 1 clear, yet surprising, favorite as the end of the season arrives
With the end of the regular season on the horizon, there's 1 clear NBA MVP leader.
Digging into a final NBA MVP Ladder, there's one clear, yet somewhat surrprising, favorite as the end of the regular season quickly approaches.
With less than two weeks remaining in the regular season, the individual award races are quickly coming to an end if they already haven't. When it comes to the biggest individual award in the Association, the NBA MVP award, you can make the argument that it should be close to wrapped up.
As we inch closer and closer to the official end of the season, let's take a dig into our final NBA MVP Ladder of the season in which there may be one clear favorite to win the award at this point in the MVP race.
6. Donovan Mitchell, Cleveland Cavaliers
Projected to finish as a top-three seed in the Eastern Conference standings, you have to credit Donovan Mitchell for the job he's done. What Mitchell's been able to do this season with the Cleveland Cavaliers, especially considering that both Darius Garland and Evan Mobley have missed significant time for the Cavs, is nothing short of headline-worthy.
In their absence, Mitchell, almost single-handedly, put the team on his back to help them remain near the top of the East standings for much of the season. Without Mitchell, I'm not sure where the Cavs would be right now. You can make the case that they wouldn't even be a playoff team without him.
Who knows how far the Cavs will go in the playoffs but there's no question Mitchell's presence gives them a chance to make a deep run. Without him, that wouldn't be the case. Mitchell may not end up winning the NBA MVP award, but there's no question he should get some consideration with how well he's played this season in Cleveland.