NBA MVP Rankings: Battle of bigs at the top

A month into the 2024-25 campaign, here's a look at 10 candidates who have made the strongest early cases for the NBA's prestigious individual regular-season accolade.

At 39 years old, LeBron continues to showcase his excellence. His scoring has slowed down a bit, but he's still averaging over 20 points a night and has found new ways to impact the game. Logging 35.4 minutes a contest, the King is third in the Association in assists per outing and is shooting a career-high 42.2% from three. LeBron is one of just three players this campaign to record 350-plus points, 100-plus rebounds, and 100-plus assists, according to StatMuse.

The NBA's all-time leading scorer also broke his own record earlier this year, becoming the oldest player in league history to achieve three consecutive triple-doubles - which he followed up with another triple-double to record four straight for the first time in his career.

Edwards has taken another leap toward stardom this season. He's putting up career-high averages in points (27.9), minutes (37.2), field goal percentage, and 3-point percentage (43.8). And he's reaching these new highs despite his usage rating decreasing from 32.3% in 2023-24 to 30.3%. The 23-year-old has an insane 61.2 true shooting percentage and a career-best 114.5 offensive rating per 100 possessions.

He's also contributing 32% of his team's points, his highest total in his five years with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Edwards currently sits first in the NBA for 3-pointers made with 78, ninth in points per game, and tied for sixth in field goals made per game with 9.9.

The Milwaukee Bucks' early struggles aren't a result of a lack of production on Antetokounmpo's end. The two-time MVP is playing arguably the best basketball of his career, pacing the league in scoring and sitting sixth in boards. He's shooting a personal-best 51% on long mid-range jumpers, which ranks in the 88th percentile among big men, per Cleaning the Glass.

Antetokounmpo made history last season as the first NBA player to average 30-plus points on 60% shooting over a single season, and he's on pace to repeat the unique accomplishment. The Greek Freak went off for an NBA season-high 59 points, 14 boards, seven assists, three blocks, and two steals against the Detroit Pistons earlier this month, marking the ninth 50-point, 10-rebound performance of his career. Only Wilt Chamberlain and Elgin Baylor have achieved the feat more.

Although Doncic is out with a wrist injury, the Dallas Mavericks star is already off to a strong start to the campaign. The 25-year-old ranks in the top 10 in both points (28.1) and assists (7.6) to kick off the young season, keeping Dallas on pace with the rest of the Western Conference contenders after reaching the Finals last season.

While his current stats pale in comparison to last year's performance, it's reasonable to expect Doncic to pick up the production as the campaign progresses. He was the Association's leading scorer last season and finished in the top three in the two seasons prior. Hopefully, the shots will drop more efficiently when he returns.

Curry is producing near 50/40/90 splits just over a month into the season and could surpass Steve Nash as the oldest NBA player to accomplish the feat. The 36-year-old remains essential to the league's seventh-best offensive unit: The Golden State Warriors are scoring 13.4 more points per 100 possessions when Curry's on the court. He leads his peers with 4.1 points per contest off screens and ranks third in free-throw percentage and 14th in steals (1.6 per game).

The Warriors star is still reliable down the stretch, tallying 6.2 points on 46.3% shooting in the fourth quarter. Head coach Steve Kerr's decision to roll with a 12-man rotation is keeping Curry fresh and should pay dividends near the end of the campaign when the 10-time All-Star is leaned on for extended minutes.

Mitchell isn't the only one responsible for the Cleveland Cavaliers' franchise-best start, but he has been one of its most significant contributors. He leads the squad in scoring, but the five-time All-Star also boasts the best defensive rating of any Cavs player at 105.5 points allowed per 100 possessions. Cleveland's team mark in the same category is at its worst when Mitchell sits (115.8).

Some of that comes down to frequently playing alongside other formidable defenders like Isaac Okoro, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen. However, Mitchell does lead Kenny Atkinson's squad with 2.7 deflections per game, which likely fuels his team-high four fast-break points per contest.

Serious MVP consideration has perennially eluded Tatum because of compelling cases by other candidates and the overall effectiveness of the Boston Celtics' roster. However, the 26-year-old seems intent on making it as difficult as possible to deny him the prize in his eighth season.

The four-time All-NBAer is scoring at one of the best rates of his career (second only to his 30.1 points per game in 2022-23), and he's also noticeably focused on making the right reads for his teammates this year. His 5.9 assists per game represent a career high, but it's especially notable that he already has two games in the first month with double-digit dimes; Tatum had just one 10-assist outing last season and has never recorded more than three over an entire campaign.

SGA is pushing to become the second Canadian after Nash to be named MVP. He's pacing the Thunder in points per game and assists while adding 1.1 blocks and 1.8 steals per game. And Gilgeous-Alexander already set a new career high this season when he dropped 45 points in a victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.

The 26-year-old is currently second in the NBA with the highest plus/minus this season with a +170 through 16 games of action. He's also scored the fourth-most points among guards this campaign with 459.

AD is playing out of his mind this season as the focal point of the Los Angeles Lakers' offense. He's averaging 30-plus points for the first time in his career while showcasing his defensive abilities with 1.3 steals and 1.9 blocks per game. He has a career-high 63.8 true shooting percentage and a usage rate of 31.6%, his highest since joining the Lakers.

The 31-year-old has improved his 3-point shooting percentage by 13.5% from last campaign and leads L.A. with 3.7 points in clutch time. He's led the Lakers to a 10-6 record, and the team is 7-2 when AD scores 30 or more.

Jokic is looking to join LeBron James and Bill Russell as the only players to win four MVP awards in five campaigns. Denver's superstar leads the Association in rebounds and triple-doubles (7) and sits second in both assists and 3-point percentage. He's also averaging more points, boards, and dimes this season than in any of his previous three MVP campaigns, and could very well become the first player in NBA history to lead the league in points, rebounding, and assists.

Jokic continues to be the fulcrum of the Nuggets' offense. They score a whopping 34.4 more points per 100 possessions when the All-Star center is on the floor.