NBA: Can Curry overtake Embiid, Jokic in MVP race?

With one month left in the NBA regular season, the league MVP race is really starting to heat up! Let's take a look at the top-five candidates, headlined by Stephen Curry's attempt at catching Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid.

5. Chris Paul (15.7 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 8.8 APG, 48.8 FG% 93.1 FT%, 20.4 PER): Chris Paul's season statistics don't exactly jump off your screen. However, his impact on the Phoenix Suns has been tremendous since being dealt from Oklahoma City. The Suns have a 42-17 record, which is good enough for second-best in the Western Conference. Last year, the Suns finished 10th in the West even after going 8-0 in the bubble and just missing out on the play-in game. After adding CP3 in this past offseason, the Suns became championship contenders. Paul has completely changed this team offensively and defensively, especially from a tempo and spacing standpoint. He's easily been one of the most valuable players in the league.

4. Giannis Antetokounmpo (28.4 PPG, 11.2 RPG, 6.1 APG, 56.5 FG%, 68.3 FT%, 28.8 PER): Giannis Antetokounmpo is having another MVP caliber season. The back-to-back MVP has been dealing with a knee injury for about a month now, though, and he left Monday’s game versus Phoenix in overtime with leg cramps. He finished the game with 33 points, eight rebounds, and two assists. I believe Giannis needs to finish this season on a tear to claim MVP honors for the third year in a row. One of the biggest questions for Antetokounmpo in this final stretch of the season is going to be health. He has missed six out of the last eight games. So, it begs the question, how many games will Antetokounmpo miss?

3. Stephen Curry (31.4 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 5.9ASG, 49.1 FG%, 92.2 FT%, 27.2 PER): Stephen Curry is the hottest player right now, as he's in the middle of the greatest shooting streak in league history. Curry dropped 49 points in a win against the 76ers on Monday night, becoming the first player, 33-years or older, to score 30+ points in 11 straight games (passing Kobe Bryant). Not enough? In April, Curry is averaging 40.8 points on 55/50/91 shooting splits. Over the last five games, he's putting up an otherworldly 44.8 points on 55.4% from behind the arc. It will take Curry continuing to play out of his mind, combined with the Warriors getting to the 6-seed, for him to make a realistic case. He currently has an 18/1 shot to win MVP.

2. Joel Embiid (30.0 PPG, 11.1 RPG, 3.0 APG, 51.6 FG%, 85.5 FT%, 31.3 PER): Joel Embiid has been in the MVP conversation since the start of the season. He’s having the greatest statistical year of his career, ranking second in the NBA in player efficiency rating at 31.31. The biggest glare in the Embiid MVP case has been injuries. He has missed 18 games this season after going down with an ankle injury early last month. Is that too many games missed to be league MVP? Even after being out for a month, Embiid has the second best odds (+340) to win the award, according to Vegas Insider. For much of the season, Embiid was the MVP favorite but it looks more likely he'll finish as a close runner-up.

1. Nikola Jokic (26.1 PPG, 11.0 RPG, 8.8 APG, 56.7 FG%, 85.5 FT%, 31.4 PER): Nikola Jokic has been the most consistent, efficient, and durable player throughout this entire season. He has the best PER in the NBA at 31.40, just slighting beating out Embiid. Jokic has very comparable numbers to his 76ers counterpart, but the biggest difference between the two has been the availability. Jokic has played in every single game this season. That has to count for something, especially when injuries have hurt multiple candidacies, including Kevin Durant, James Harden, and LeBron James. If Jokic can finish the year strong and take home MVP honors, he'll be the first center to do so since 2000.

Photo Credit: Mercury News.