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Giannis Antetokounmpo Now Takes The Top Spot For MVP After Injuries To Joel Embiid And LeBron James, Per Jalen Rose

The window of the 2021 MVP award has become wider after Joel Embiid and LeBron James, who were the early MVP leaders, went down with injuries. 

Nikola Jokic is getting a ton of traction for MVP considering his consistent level of play since the first week of the season, carrying the Denver Nuggets while averaging monstrous numbers of 27.0 points, 11.3 rebounds and 8.5 assists per game on 57.1% shooting from the field throughout the season.

Damian Lillard is also rising on the list as he continues to lead the Portland Trail Blazers into the playoff picture without much contributions from his key teammates who have missed a large chunk of games this season.

While Jokic and Lillard are quickly catching up, NBA analyst Jalen Rose believes that Giannis Antetokounmpo tops everyone on the list and is the new front runner for MVP award.

“This looks like Giannis’ trophy to win and everybody else finished second. [He’s] the all-star game MVP and the back-to-back reigning MVP. His numbers are just as comparable, if not better. He’s now getting triple-doubles, Jrue Holiday is balling when he’s out and I’m like ‘wait a minute, Giannis has a chance if he can stay healthy the remainder of the year to be the constant choice’,”