April 20th: Latest NBA MVP Rankings

As the NBA is hitting the home stretch in the regular season, surprise entrants find themselves in the NBA’s MVP race.

NBA fans got to enjoy a great weekend of games in primetime spots that should get us excited for the upcoming playoffs. It has been a draining season filled with injuries to key stars in the league the likes of LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis, and now recently the younger stars in Jamal Murray and Donovan Mitchell. But with the spotlight off of the usually MVP candidates we got to see others rise to the occasion and now in April, these potential candidates have been playing at their best much to their team's benefit.

Here are the current MVP rankings:

5. Julius Randle

Last 10: 26.8 PPG, 9.1 RPG, 7.4 APG

That’s right Knicks fan, Julius Randle has earned himself a top-five spot in the MVP rankings. Randle was recently named Eastern Conference Player of the Week for his great play where he scored 30 or more points in what was all wins during Week 17 (4 games). The Knicks are currently enjoying a six-game win streak, their longest since 2014. What has been great about Randle's performances is he’s been doing them in big spots against Luka and Zion. Though the Eastern Conference is weaker in the record, Randle play has powered the Knicks solidly into a current playoff spot which is incredible given where they have come. And not to mention Randle hasn’t missed games for the Knicks as well.

4. Steph Curry

Last 10: 41.3 PPG, 4.6 APG, 5.7 RPG

It’s hard not to put Curry higher on this list as he’s been on an incredible tear. He’s hit the most threes (72) in a 10-game stretch, has scored 30 or more in 11 straight games, and he’s been enjoying some big performances dropping 40 plus in four out of his last five. But the Warriors record speaks for itself as they aren’t even a top-eight seed in the conference. That said, Curry can make a stronger case in this injury-riddled season if he can power the Warriors to a playoff spot, not just the Play-In tournament. He was also named Western Conference Player of the Week, for his record-breaking performances in a mini four-game win streak before the loss to the Celtics. Last night's 49-point performance against the Sixers is only the icing on the top for this surprising ranking.

3. Luka Doncic 

Last 10: 28.2 PPG, 7.8 APG, 7.1 RPG

Luka has been one of the healthier superstars in the league this season. He’s having an MVP season statically and the Mavs have been playing better as of late. What holds Luka in this position is him being in the news more than the other three potential candidates for this spot (Harden, Dame, and Giannis), all of whom have missed games of late. Though his numbers have been dropping he’s still close to a triple-double and the Mavs have been edging on the Blazers sixth seed.

2. Joel Embiid

Last 10: 29.9 PPG, 10 RPG, 2.6 APG

Embiid has come back strong after his absence due to injury. He’s dropping dominant double-double performances and the Sixers have been winning which brings Embiid back into the MVP fold. He’s also been doing a little campaigning lately not only for this award but for DPOY as well which has drawn some major attention to the big man. The Sixers remain number one in the East after beating the Nets in a big-time matchup this past week where Embiid went off (39 points and 13 rebounds). If he doesn’t miss any more games his case might bring in more traction but that’s only if he doesn’t miss any more games.

1.Nikola Jokic

Last 10: 24.6 PPG, 10.9 RPG, 10.3 APG

It should be no surprise that the Joker finds himself at number one on this list. He has consistently been a bright spot for the league this season missing NO games at all and being top 10 in PPG, APG, RPG and is number one in PER. He’s leading the Nuggets in literally every statistic and has recovered well after losing Jamal Murray in the Warriors matchup, winning three straight since. And if you thought he was going to be overshadowed by the return of Embiid and his performance he went out and dropped 47 points and 15 rebounds last night against the Grizzlies. 

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