And-Ones: MVP Race, Redick, Birch, Obst

Nikola Jokic He writes that he has an enormous lead in ESPN’s first ballot of the season for the MVP race ESPN’s Tim Bontemps. the Fragments The middle acquired 57 first-place votes out of 100 ballots, giving it a complete of 827 factors. thunder protects Shai Gilgeous-Alexander He is available in second place with 24 first-place votes and 678 factors, adopted by Bucks Large man Giannis AntetokounmpoWhich leads on 19 ballots and has 643 factors. Celtics ahead Jayson Tatum (267 factors) and Mavericks protects Luka Doncic (123) Rounding the primary 5.

Bontemps factors out {that a} Jokic win would give him 4 MVP awards in 5 years and put him on a really choose workforce. solely LeBron James and Bill Russell They gained the award 4 instances in 5 seasons Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain They’re the opposite gamers who can be named Most Invaluable Participant not less than 4 instances.

Bontemps provides that Antetokounmpo had a major rise within the ballot after his win Dominant performance Within the NBA Cup Closing. Twenty-nine voters modified their votes after Tuesday’s sport, giving him greater than double the variety of first-place votes and placing him a lot nearer to Gilgeous-Alexander.

There’s extra from across the basketball world:

• JJ Riddickwho was a rising media star earlier than being employed to educate a workforce Lakersaffected decrease NBA TV scores after Thursday’s sport, in response to Sam Amick and Jovan Buha of The Athletic. Reddick would not assume the league is properly served by nationwide tv retailers. “We do not have anybody who needs to emphasize that it is a nice match and we should always speak about it and rejoice it in a constructive means.” He mentioned. “That does not imply we do not criticize it. We must always criticize it, however we should always rejoice it. No person does it, folks with a small quantity of followers on Twitter. And admittedly, I’d additionally argue that everybody in our ecosystem is paying shut consideration to what’s being mentioned.” On Twitter and a part of the entire scores dialogue is as a result of folks on Twitter are speaking about it.
• Birch is cheap He’ll stay with Fenerbahce for the remainder of the season Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews. In September, Birch signed a one-year contract with an exit clause that will have allowed the Turkish workforce to terminate the deal in January. Urbonas said that different EuroLeague groups have been if the 32-year-old heart turned a free agent once more.
• German sniper Andreas Obst Speaking about attainable three-point shootouts with Stephen Curry And his curiosity in the way forward for the NBA in BasketNews Film Session Episode. Obst says he heard NBA executives have been speaking about him after he impressed on the 2023 World Cup, however he has not acquired any formal supply. “In some unspecified time in the future, sure, I can see myself within the NBA.” He mentioned. “I could be a shooter. I understand how to make use of my gravity to house the ground and stand up and make performs with the ball. I feel that is one thing any workforce within the NBA can use.”