NBA MVP Rankings: LeBron James and Anthony Davis rule the top 5 one-third of the way through the season

Ladies and gentlemen, believe it or not, we are one-third of the way through the 2019-20 NBA season.

Oh, how time flies, especially when the city of Los Angeles features some of the best basketball on the planet. And with the Christmas Day games upon us, now seemed like a perfect time to take a temperature check on the NBA’s MVP race.

The thing everyone forgets about the NBA MVP award is that it’s not an award voted on by the players, or the coaches, or even the fans. It’s an award handed out by the media. And the media — disclosure, I’m a media member — can be a fickle lot.

LeBron had a five-year stretch when he captured four MVPs. Kobe and Shaq only have one MVP apiece, while Stephen Curry has two. Russell Westbrook got the MVP after averaging a triple double; then he did it again the next year but only finished 5th. 

As best as I can tell, here are the two things about the voters you need to remember most: They like shiny new things, and they remember postseason failures, even though the previous postseason has no bearing on the MVP.

So you can basically rule out James Harden regardless of his growing stats, because he has never proven he can put the up the same numbers in the playoffs.

Giannis, for his improved game, will be hard-pressed to win the award again after his postseason flame-out. (Social media blows up when the media hands out an MVP award in late June after watching said MVP just fail in the playoffs, which is what Giannis did up 2-0 against the Raptors.)

You can rule out Kawhi Leonard, because he’s load managing.

As for the new things to watch this year? It’s pretty simple: Anthony Davis in LA and 20-year old Luka Doncic have both captured the hearts and minds of voters and fans alike.

Keep all of this in mind before reading my NBA MVP ballot as we approach the one-third mark of the season.