Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
It seems as though just yesterday we crowned the Miami Heat NBA champions. But as the 2013-14 season is only a few months away, I start to wonder who will take over the spotlight in the new season. There are truly so many different players who could covet the MVP trophy next season that it’s hard to narrow it down to one single individual.
There are the obvious front-runners like LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Kobe Bryant and Kevin Durant, but the ones we overlook may have the biggest impact on their team’s performance in the upcoming season.
We begin with last season’s most improved player in Paul George.
George made his very first All-Star appearance last year and led his Indiana Pacers to a 49-32 record and the third seed in the East. He also helped the Pacers reach the Eastern Conference Finals, only to lose a fierce battle of seven games to the eventual champion Miami Heat. Although all of his numbers increased exponentially last season, he’s going to need to break into the 20 PPG range to be considered the league’s best.
Another player who we often overlook is the young Steph Curry. Curry dominated the league last year and was absolutely unstoppable from 3-point land, shooting an incredible 45.3 percent. He also broke Ray Allen‘s single-season 3-point record with 272 made three’s to accompany his league-best 54-point game against the New York Knicks.
There is no doubt that he is an emerging star, but if he wants to take it to the next level, he will have to become more consistent as a scorer and develop a stronger presence on the court, diminishing the ideology that he is a ”weak” player.
After his interview with CNN, we all know who Derrick Rose think next year’s MVP will be.
The recovery of Rose has been an interesting one, especially when his Chicago Bulls were in dire need of his talents in last season’s playoffs, but he refused to return because he was not yet 100 percent. He received a lot of scrutiny for his lack of action. However, as the season has passed and he has proclaimed himself the best player in the NBA, he has a lot to live up to in the coming season.
In the 2011-12 season with the Bulls, he averaged around 22 points, eight assists and three rebounds a game. He’s going to need to exceed those numbers and average another season like he did the year prior, when he averaged 25 points, around eight rebounds and four assists, to gain MVP honors once again.
I still believe that there is only one king of the hill and until you knock him down, he will continue his reign at the top. LeBron is the reigning MVP of both the regular season and NBA Finals for the past two seasons. He has proved himself to be the best athlete in the NBA.
I believe there is potential in all of the above mentioned players to win this prestigious award, but it’s going to take a monumental season from one of them to keep King James from snagging his fifth MVP.
Who will rise to the occasion? Only time will tell.
