3 states pick Devin Booker as favorite to win MVP in country-wide poll
Apr 12, 2022, 2:27 PM | Updated: 3:16 pm
Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) shoots over Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker (1) during Game 1 of an NBA basketball second-round playoff series, Monday, June 7, 2021, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Matt York)
(AP Photo/Matt York)
Every week during this NBA season, it seems like the favorite for MVP has changed.
A handful of names have been thrown around for the prestigious award and the voters are not the only ones having trouble declaring a winner.
BetOnline conducted an analysis on Twitter that tracked any tweets with the #MVP hashtag and a player’s name within it. Those with the most tweets for MVP won the state.
Graphic via BetOnline
Reigning MVP Nikola Jokic collected the most states (15) with Giannis Antetokounmpo (14) and Joel Embiid (13) right behind him.
Devin Booker had three states with the most MVP tweets in Arizona, Louisiana and Hawaii.
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Jayson Tatum (4) and Luka Doncic (1) were the others to receive states in the analysis.
Jokic, the favorite to win it according to FanDuel (-330), played in 74 games, averaging 27.1 points, 13.8 rebounds and 7.9 assists. As the lone All-Star on the Denver Nuggets, he led the team to a 48-34 record, good for the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference.
Reigning Finals MVP Antetokounmpo also performed well on the offensive side, scoring 29.9 points and 11.6 rebounds per game in 67 appearances, helping secure the second seed in the Eastern Conference.
Embiid finished the year as the league’s best scorer with 30.6 points per game in 68 games, the first time a center has led the entire association in scoring since Shaquille O’Neal did it in 2000.
Tatum’s fifth season in the league was his best so far, finishing the year with 26.9 points, 8.0 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game, all career-bests. He was also instrumental in the Boston Celtics’ 26-6 stretch to finish the season and lock up the No. 3 seed in the East.
Doncic continues to throw his name in the conversation with 28.4 points, 9.1 rebounds and 8.7 assists per game. The 52 wins for the Dallas Mavericks were also the most since the 2011 Finals run.
And then there is Booker, who finished the season with career-highs in points per game (26.8), rebounds per game (5.0) and 3-point field goal percentage (.383) while guiding the Phoenix Suns to a 64-18 record, best in the NBA this year and best in the franchise’s history.
The most recent MVP award that finished with tight results dates back to 2005 when Steve Nash beat out O’Neal with 2.6% more of the votes, the closest margin over the past 20 years. This year’s award could be no different.
