The MVP chatter was initiated well before the opening tipoff of the 2018-2019 season. Vegas released its odds-on favorites for the MVP sometime between summer league and opening stretch, with LeBron James the central figure no matter the discussion, time, or place.
Steph Curry's unbelievable 51 point performance this past week, placed the diminutive point guard back in the thick of the MVP race, it would seem, for the first time in two whole seasons since Durant joined the Warriors. After Curry's 51 point showing, Durant was quoted as saying that Steph's chances to walk away with the award were as good as anybody's, himself included. But Andre Iguodala is more of a realist; he doesn't it happening anytime soon, but not for the reason(s) you might think.
"Ask the NBA, man," Iguodala told Tim Kawakami of The Athletic. "It don't matter. They say we’re bad for the NBA… I hope Steph wins every award he possibly can. He’s the best point guard in the league. But he ain’t going to get it because they say we're too good. It is what it is."
And he's right, MVP voters, sportswriters, and broadcasters often cast their ballot based on a snazzy narrative, and not a player's actual performance. The truth of the matter is that in any given year, there are at least 5 to 6 worthy MVP candidates in the NBA, on circumstantial evidence alone.
