The race for the 2022 NBA MVP will be a close one. This season started showing us players having incredible nights, leading their teams to grab some victories, drawing a lot of attention around the association.
Players like Stephen Curry, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Ja Morant and more have demonstrated they are playing with a chip on their shoulder and won’t rest until they reach their goals. Curry and Giannis are a lock to fight for the MVP award, and Ja could surprise a lot of people in the next months.
At this stage of the season, one imagines these players are already making their cases to compete for the coveted award. Still, this league always saves a surprise for fans. Recently, The NBA Central found out Basketball-Reference MVP Award tracker has a ranking that differs a lot from what most fans think.
They have Utah Jazz’s star and 3x DPOY Rudy Gobert as the No. 1 candidate to take this award right now, surpassing Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler on the top 3. Gobert’s probability, as things stand now, is 60.7%
Basketball-reference’s NBA MVP Award Tracker:
1. Rudy Gobert
2. Stephen Curry
3. Jimmy Butler
4. Zach LaVine
5. Giannis Antetokounmpo
6. Karl-Anthony Towns
7. Nikola Jokic
8. Trae Young
9. Julius Randle
10. DeMar DeRozan
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) October 28, 2021
Of course, this didn’t sit well with fans, who instantly trashed the list. While some criticized Gobert, others supported him and the rest made a case for their favorite player.
There’s no fucking way Rudy Gobert is number one 😭💀
— Nard 🇳🇬 (@bernard_dat) October 28, 2021
Rudy Gobert at #1? Throw this entire list away
— BBK (@xBBKx) October 28, 2021
Rudy for MVP? pic.twitter.com/CBZWlRbxFi
— Zeit_Train (@TonyPlankmast2) October 28, 2021
https://twitter.com/nonbiasednbafan/status/1453756231622053899
GOBERT???? COVID MAN???? DEFENSIVE LIABILITY IN THE PLAYOFFS????
— 𝙇𝙚𝙗𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝘽𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧 ❄️❄️❄️ (@kalibribois) October 28, 2021
https://twitter.com/officialmyles23/status/1453786800351289345
1. Giannis
2. Who cares
Rudy Gobert will never win away again after his last year playoffs
— Giannis ③④ SZN (@Giannis34SZN) October 28, 2021
How many others on the list require this sort of derense? pic.twitter.com/P1sKdrcEnL
— Bob (@runrunpasspunt) October 28, 2021
Fam???? pic.twitter.com/Ahm3OVbaFY
— té (@TheMrIconic) October 28, 2021
absolutely no reason why gobert and butler should be this high
— 𝕋𝕐ℝ𝔼𝕊𝔼 ⛈️ (@tyrese1717) October 28, 2021
https://twitter.com/burner_edwards1/status/1453756408328069127https://twitter.com/hayescarroll_/status/1453756264429858818
Hell Yes. pic.twitter.com/em2GuT9s5I
— Travis Lincoln Cox (@TravLCox) October 28, 2021
rudy isn’t even top 15 what😭😭😭
— Jimmy (@joelwillwinmvp) October 28, 2021
Gobert is generational tbh
— Hana 🧡💙 (@HanaHoops) October 28, 2021
— ⁴ (@5StarMoiii) October 28, 2021
Im sorry, did I see Rudy Gobert as an MVP candidate??? pic.twitter.com/HY9OjTlub9
— Van (@vanman_1000) October 28, 2021
This is very curious, but it makes sense since this tracker measures stats and it’s not based on what person’s opinion. Perhaps, if Rudy keeps this pace and these numbers, he could have a chance to grab the award.
Let’s not forget that Nikola Jokic won the award last season and Joel Embiid was No. 2 in the voting. Big men are making noise in the league and the Frenchman could do the same next year, although that looks like a very long shot.
