National Basketball Association

Stephen Curry, Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid are finalists for NBA's MVP award

Updated May. 21, 2021 6:11 p.m. ET

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And then there were three.

The conversation around who should be the NBA's regular-season MVP has been an interesting one that has wound its way through the NBA season. Players have risen and fallen, surged to the front of the conversation and slid back out of it. 

Now it's just about decision time, as the NBA announced its finalists for MVP – and all the other major awards – on Thursday.

The top three vote-getters for each award were announced before the Eastern Conference's eighth-place play-in game between the Washington Wizards and Indiana Pacers. While the final results are under wraps, voting has concluded, and the winners will be announced at a yet-to-be-announced time during the playoffs.

Let's take a look at the awards finalists and what you need to know about each.

Most Valuable Player

Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets

Key stats: 26.4 points, 10.8 rebounds, 8.3 assists, 1.3 steals

Won it before? No

Perspectives: 

"Jokić, any night, he can do everything from scoring to running the offense. He's on pace to pass Wilt Chamberlain for most assists in a season for a center ... Sounds like the MVP to me." – Shannon Sharpe on "Undisputed"

"He’s kind of gone wire-to-wire at this high level. He makes teammates better and everything go. They lost Jamal Murray, and they haven’t really skipped a beat. That shows how good he is." – Nets coach Steve Nash

Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers

Key stats: 28.5 points, 10.6 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.4 blocks, 1.0 steals

Won it before? No

Perspectives:

"In the big picture, I've always said I'd take Embiid over Jokić. I still think Embiid is starting to pull away from Jokić in the MVP race. 4.9 to 11.8 free throws, shows you how powerful, dominant and Shaq-like Joel is." – Skip Bayless on "Undisputed"

"If we keep winning and end up the No. 1 seed [they did], I don’t know how you can argue [against] Joel Embiid being the MVP. He affected winning as much as anybody else." – 76ers coach Doc Rivers

Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors

Key stats: 32.0 points, 5.8 assists, 5.0 rebounds, 1.2 steals

Won it before? Yes, twice (2015, 2016)

Perspectives:

"I don't think Steph is the MVP. ... But Steph proved more this year than he did the last time the Warriors won a title in 2018. He answered: Is Steph Curry by himself an automatic playoff berth? And the answer is yes." – Nick Wright on "First Things First"

"We get caught up in the record sometimes. We get caught up in the, ‘OK, who has the best record?' Instead of saying who had the best season that year. Steph has had, in my opinion, the best season all year." – LeBron James

Defensive Player of the Year

Rudy Gobert, Utah Jazz

Key stats: 13.5 rebounds, 2.7 blocks, 0.6 steals

Won it before? Yes, twice (2018, 2019)

The French big man is a shot-altering difference-maker in the middle who is also an incredibly efficient player on offense, leading the NBA with 67.5 FG%.

Ben Simmons, Philadelphia 76ers

Key stats: 7.2 rebounds, 1.6 steals, 0.6 blocks

Won it before? No

The 6-foot-11 point guard does just about everything well (except shoot 3s), and his long arms are very disruptive on the defensive end.

Draymond Green, Golden State Warriors

Key stats: 7.1 rebounds, 1.7 steals, 0.8 blocks

Won it before? Yes, once (2017)

Green is a jack-of-all-trades and emotional leader who is averaging a career-best 8.9 assists per game.

Rookie of the Year

LaMelo Ball, Charlotte Hornets

Key stats: 15.7 points, 6.1 assists, 5.9 rebounds, 1.6 steals

The No. 3 pick in the 2020 Draft thrills with his flashy passing as much as his versatile scoring.

Anthony Edwards, Minnesota Timberwolves

Key stats: 19.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.1 steals

The 2020 No. 1 overall selection is proving to be a dynamic scorer. Now he just needs to lift that 33% 3-point shooting percentage.

Tyrese Haliburton, Sacramento Kings

Key stats: 13.0 points, 5.3 assists, 3.0 rebounds

The Iowa State product is a pure shooter who makes 41% of his 3-point shots. He's also a cousin of former 14-year NBA veteran Eddie Jones, who was fourth in Rookie of the Year voting in 1995.

Sixth Man

Jordan Clarkson, Utah Jazz

Key stats: 18.4 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists

Won it before? No

Clarkson is instant offense off the bench, averaging career highs in points and rebounds.

Joe Ingles, Utah Jazz

Key stats: 12.1 points, 4.7 assists, 3.6 rebounds

Won it before? No

It's a little odd that the Jazz have two finalists for this award – though it does speak to their depth. Even more odd? Ingles has started 30 games this season.

Derrick Rose, New York Knicks

Key stats: 14.9 points, 4.2 assists, 2.9 rebounds

Won it before? No

The 32-year-old has experienced a career resurgence since a Feb. 8 trade sent him from Detroit to New York, where he has become a big-time scoring threat off the bench.

Most Improved Player

Julius Randle, New York Knicks

Key stats: 24.1 points, 10.2 rebounds, 6.0 assists

Won it before? No

The unquestioned on-court leader of the Knicks, Randle produced career-best numbers in points, assists, 3-point shooting (41.1%) and free-throw shooting (81.1%) this season.

Jerami Grant, Detroit Pistons

Key stats: 22.3 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2.8 assists

Won it before? No

Grant averaged more than twice his career scoring average of 10.7 this year. He also notched career bests in assists and free-throw shooting (84.5%).

Michael Porter, Jr., Denver Nuggets

Key stats: 19.0 points, 7.3 rebounds

Won it before? No

Porter raised his game after Jamal Murray went down with a knee injury, increasing his scoring average from just 9.3 PPG last season.

Coach of the Year

Tom Thibodeau, New York Knicks

Key stats: The Knicks went 41-31, earning the No. 4 playoff seed in the East.

Won it before? Yes, once (2011 with Chicago)

Thibodeau hangs his hat on defense, and his Knicks led the NBA in opponent points allowed, opponent field goal percentage and opponent 3-point percentage.

Monty Williams, Phoenix Suns

Key stats: The Suns went 51-21, earn the No. 2 playoff seed in the West.

Won it before? No

Reunited with point guard Chris Paul, whom he coached in New Orleans, Williams guided the Suns to the second-best record in the West.

Quin Snyder, Utah Jazz

Key stats: The Jazz went 52-20, earning the top seed in the West.

Won it before? No

Snyder guided the Jazz, who do not have a top MVP candidate, to the best record in the NBA this season.

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in this topic

National Basketball Association

Stephen Curry

Nikola Jokic

Joel Embiid

Golden State Warriors

Denver Nuggets

Philadelphia 76ers

Rudy Gobert

Ben Simmons

Draymond Green

LaMelo Ball

Jordan Clarkson

Joe Ingles

Derrick Rose

Julius Randle

Jerami Grant

Michael Porter Jr.

Nick Wright

Skip Bayless

Shannon Sharpe

Skip and Shannon: Undisputed

First Things First