It's never been so difficult: ranking the best players of the season in the NBA - voila! sport

Tikteknu: clip summarizing today's events in sports, 11.4 (Sport1)

With the end of the regular season in the NBA, it's time for the traditional title distribution.

This year a new category of clutch player of the season was added to the official titles, so I'll address that as well.

I will not use the minimum 65 game limit that will come into effect next season, but in a season where many senior players missed a significant chunk, I decided to leave out of the ranking those who played less than 60.

After filtering, I was left with 12 candidates worthy of ranking as the season's outstanding, with the first nine being just a trailer, of course.

After all, it was a season of the Big Three, and we'll get to them shortly.

Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, Anthony Davis, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Damian Lillard, Tyrese Halliburton, Devin Booker, James Harden, Paul George.

Jrue Holiday, Dearon Fox, Jaylen Brown, Julius Randle.

In a season where so many seniors have missed so many games, some of these less predictable names have a chance to earn a spot in the third five of the season.

Maybe they would have played more.

Kerry (Photo: GettyImages, Alex Bierens de Haan)

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Places 4-12

12. Jimmy Butler (Miami):

A disappointing season for the Eastern Conference runner-up, who will have to qualify for the playoffs through the play-in, but Butler continues to be one of the most efficient and complete players in the league.

No one will want to meet him in the first round, a reasonable chance it will be Boston.

If Utah had not given up the season at the deadline, the Finnish scorer would have entered the top ten.

Breakout season of 25.6 points per game with good percentages, for the most versatile player in the league with work away from the ball that allows him to reach shooting situations from any range.

The new owner at MSG has taken the team on him as the season has progressed and has become one of the league's top quality offensive coordinators.

A significant leap forward for a player who is very lacking for those ranked one place ahead of him.

Dallas' season began with the loss of Bronson and ended with a loss of temper, a glorious collapse to the point of giving up the play-in in the final games.

Luca played like an MVP in the first half of the season but did not return to that ability in the second half.

The Mavs' problems are many and varied, the trade for Kyrie Irving left them with a problematic supporting star and especially with an unbalanced roster.

But even Luca is not immune to criticism - the expectation was that at this stage he would know how to carry such teams as well and above all to be more stable throughout the season.

The question of whether he is getting tired of Dallas is one of the most important in the league.

After all the mess, it cannot be ignored that Ja once again led the Grizzlies to the top.

He hasn't made a leap in terms of efficiency either, but when he gets to the paint with momentum, there's nothing you can do against him.

The trade that brought Halliburton to Indiana and Sabonis to Sacramento seems like a rare win-win.

Sabonis teamed up with Fox for one of the league's deadliest pick-and-roll pairings, with both knowing how to score and pass.

He brought leadership to Sacramento that was missing and at his peak he does a good imitation of Nikola Jokic.

Another player who was benefited by the change of situation.

Mitchell finished the last playoffs badly, loaded with question marks, and he answered them all in Cleveland.

After a career-best 28.3 points season along with a commitment to defense, Mitchell can once again be seen as a player around whom a large team can be built as the leading scorer.

Qualifying for the play-in decided that GA has a place in my top five. A breakout season of 31.4 points per game, with polished abilities to get to the paint, get free for shots from half distance and squeeze fouls, also makes the star of the Thunder a player who can be imagined leading a big team. This year he Led a roster without a center, which apart from him includes three significant players: a rookie, a second-year player and a defensive specialist. OKC was not supposed to be competitive yet, Shea left them no choice. 4. Jayson Tatum (

Whenever Boston led the league He also had a case for a higher place, but after the Celtics weakened, he will settle for the title of the best of the rest. One of six players with more than 30 points per game, for him it also translated into wins and leading a team that is able to go to the end. He is not in the big leagues yet Most, but very close.

We expected more.

Doncic (Photo: Reuters)

The three big ones

Now it gets complicated.

Three international unicorns in great seasons, all three led their team to one of the four best records in the league, the numbers of all three are monstrous.

All three deserve to be MVP, but there is also value in their rankings.

So to emphasize how worthy they are and have been above everything else this season, I've decided to treat all three as first place, with the internal ranking being only secondary.

From the moment it warmed up, Milwaukee didn't count any teams, and that's mostly thanks to him.

Yanis (Photo: Reuters)

1st: Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee)

The best player in the world until further notice, and this notice can only come in the playoffs.

He was also the best player on the best team in the regular season, which from the moment it joined didn't quite count the rest of the league.

The statistical line is 31.1 points, 11.8 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game, everything still goes through him on offense and he is still everywhere on defense.

Every year he adds a few more nuances to his game and arrives more complete in the postseason.

He settles for 1st place because in the first half of the season he was less than Fox, his percentages from any range that is not under the basket were very low and in general he is at a stage in his career where he no longer attacks the regular season like he used to.

The numbers are certainly enough for a third MVP title in a row.

Jokic (Photo: Reuters)

1st B: Nikola Jokic (Denver)

He definitely can and definitely deserves to win a third MVP title in a row.

The Joker continues to be a phenomenon that has never been seen before, a point center that sees everything, jumps several levels who plays next to him and refuses to miss.

He finished the season averaging nearly a triple-double (24.5 points, 11.8 rebounds and 9.8 assists per game) and if he cared about statistics, those numbers would be much higher.

Jokic even finished with a weighted shooting percentage higher than 70, and it is difficult to exaggerate the deviations of this figure: this is the fourth highest weighted shooting percentage ever, and the first for a player who scores over 20 points per game by a margin of more than 2.5 percent.

With numbers like that there should be no question at all about who the MVP is.

And yet there is a question, mainly because in the last month Jokic dropped two gears and along with him the whole team.

Defensively, he returned to looking slow and sometimes disinterested.

His defensive data is good because he is an excellent rebounder and knows where to position himself, but when he is not sharp, it is very easy to get to the ring in front of him and the team defense is much less good.

In the end, even though whoever overtook him provided a rare offensive season himself, the defense was a major consideration in the decision.

became unstoppable.

Embiid (Photo: Reuters)

1st and MVP: Joel Embiid (Philadelphia)

Shouldn't the fact that Yanis and Jokic have already won the MVP title twice and Embiid still be a consideration in deciding between them this year?

Many would argue not, I think in such a close race that also has meaning.

What's more, at a certain point there is no doubt as to which of the three is most important to win the title and who works for it from the first moment to the last moment of the season.

Embiid finished the season as the king of baskets with 33.1 points per game, to which he added 10.2 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.7 blocks.

He adapted his style to James Harden and became a player who works mainly in the post to a pick n' roll specialist, which also led to a significant upgrade in his shooting percentage (54.8 this season from the field, compared to a career average of 50.1).

And along with the offensive qualities that are only getting better, his defensive presence in the paint continues to be one of the most important in the league.

But more than anything, it is the feeling that he has reached a stage where it is really not clear what can be done against him.

When he blocks Harden and receives a ball in the free-throw area, you can score two points or two free throws, and when the opponent doesn't have a guard who can put a body on him in the post, it's almost a white flag in advance.

Philadelphia is well built to take advantage of the double team that is becoming more and more necessary against him, and if he stays healthy this year it could work in the playoffs as well.

Who is the MVP of the season?

Joel Embiid

Nikola Jokic

Giannis Antetokounmpo

Other

500 participants

Fives of the season

I decided to stick to the limit and include in the top five only players with 60 games or more.

You should start getting used to these restrictions, what's more, all the candidates who were often absent played for teams that disappointed this year, and these absences have a price.

When you consider the amount of minutes each played and their impact on the team's success, I don't think there is anyone who should feel disadvantaged for not getting in.

I did decide to keep the division into positions, another thing that will change from next year.

There's something right about fives that look like real fives, so I'll take advantage of the last season that happens.

The losers from the situation are Jokic and Sabonis who would jump five without positions, the main beneficiary is Randle who took advantage of the scarcity of qualified forwards.

Shea Gilges Alexander, Donovan Mitchell, Jayson Tatum, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Joel Embiid.

Ja Morant, Luka Doncic, Jimmy Butler, Lauri Markkanen, Nikola Jokic

Jaylen Brunson, Jaro Holiday, Jaylen Brown, Julius Randle, Domantas Sabonis.

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Tags

• Nikola Jokic

• Joel Embiid

• Giannis Antetokounmpo