Every week or so, the NBA releases their KIA race to the MVP ladder on Instagram. As of December 10th, the top three candidates were Steph Curry, Kevin Durant and Giannis Antetokounmpo. This came to no one’s surprise as all three superstars are the pinnacle of being able to get a bucket no matter who is defending them. Sitting just outside the top three is Nikola Jokic, an honorable mention, as he is playing out of his mind this season but he doesn’t have the record to back it up.

The three superstars ahead of him do however, with the Bucks being 17-10, the Nets being 18-8 and first in the east, and the Warriors who still hold the best record in the league at 21-4. To take it one step further, ESPN surveyed 100 media members and Steph was the clear winner. Out of the 100 votes, Curry received 94 1st place votes and 978 total points. Although this isn’t the real voting, it shows that he may have another chance at another Unanimous MVP season.

While the records clearly show Curry as the favorite, the stats for the three front runners could be more of a debate. Steph is averaging 27.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 6.3 assists in 34.2 minutes per game. Kevin Durant is averaging 28.5 points, 7.6 rebounds and 5.4 assists in 36.3 minutes per game. And finally, Giannis is averaging 27.6 points, 11.8 rebounds and 5.7 assists in 32.4 minutes per game. So the argument is certainly one to be had when considering who the best player is. Should it go to the player who can perform the best no matter their record? Or should it depend on the team record as well as who leads their team the best?

Well in NBA history, every single MVP was awarded to a player whose team was at least in third place going into the playoffs. The only exception was Russell Westbrook in 2017 when he averaged a triple-double and his team was the sixth seed. If everything stays the same as of today, then Curry would be the clear winner. It also helps that he doesn’t have another clear superstar on the team, as he missed securing any MVPs when the Warriors had one of the best teams in the league from the summer of 2016 to the end of the 2019 season.

This is why the MVP award can be a tricky one, if you have superstar teammates you pretty much automatically get pushed lower in the race because you are supposed to achieve greatness by yourself. This might draw questions for KD’s spot in the mix, but without Kyrie Irving playing and James Harden playing down to earth, he seems to have some supporters' votes. The same can be said for Giannis as he has multiple great teammates but some of them have been out for most of the season. As well as the fact that he is the clear go-to scorer on the team and they just secured a championship last year thanks to him.

But with Steph closing in on Ray Allen’s all time three pointers made record and his amazing play that is leading to success, it is hard not to choose him. Some would even go as far as to say that he is this generation’s NBA icon. Stephen A Smith was the first to publicly say it on his daily show. He said, “I know everyone is thinking about Steph versus Ray, but I’m thinking about Steph versus Lebron.” If the NBA media starts thinking the same way, then Curry should deserve a few more MVPs on the road to claiming a few more championships rings.

(photo credit: Jeff Chiu / AP)