Tim Bontemps conducted a third and final NBA MVP straw poll for ESPN to see where the race stood with less than two weeks before the end of the season. The poll is significant because in the last four years the leader of the final poll has gone on to win the MVP Award. Here is how the ballot was tabulated:

“ESPN asked 100 media members to participate in an informal poll that mimics the postseason awards voting. To make the balloting as realistic as possible, there were at least two voters from each of the league’s 28 markets, as well as a cross section of national and international reporters. Votes were collected from Thursday to Saturday. 

As with the NBA’s official vote at the end of season, voters were asked to submit a five-player ballot, and results were tabulated using the league’s scoring system: 10 points for each first-place vote, followed by seven points for second place, five points for third, three points for fourth and one point for fifth.”

NBA writers have a real hard on for Nikola Jokic huh? This wasn’t even close. This was Seattle vs. Denver in Super Bowl XLVIII level of a beatdown:

via ESPN NBA MVP Straw Poll 3.0 Results

Death to FiveThirtyEight and StatMuse. If Joel Embiid doesn’t win MVP this year I want Nate Silver in Hell. I want his calculator shoved up his ass like Hitler had the pineapple in Little Nicky every single day for the rest of his existence.

The heads of the 34 NBA writers who wrote Embiid in at 3rd place should roll. I can’t believe you can look at Joel Embiid’s season and watch him drag this team to a #1 seed and not think he deserves it. Jokic gets people’s sympathy because Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. are sidelined? Ben Simmons is a former All-NBA third teamer, All-Defensive player, and 3x All-Star. Are they really going to give the award to a guy whose team is just two games in front of a play-in position?


I’m not saying Joel Embiid is the unanimous MVP, but for Jokic to get 33 more first place votes than him is ridiculous. People have turned heavy on Joel Embiid. Over what? Free throws? A rule to counteract people from assaulting a player because they can’t guard them.

Also, TNT absolutely boned the Sixers by showing Lakers vs. Mavericks tonight instead of Sixers vs. Bucks. Don’t you think it would benefit Jo if he gave Brook Lopez 30 and 17 in front of the world? They also suspiciously changed All-NBA voting this year when the NBA saw their precious Jokic was in danger of making All-NBA 2nd team. Why wasn’t this a thing last year when Embiid made the second team even though he finished second in MVP voting? –

I’ll tell you why:

Plus if Jokic wins MVP, Denver fans won’t even know:

via Sports Business Journal