One of the best measures of NBA awards voting in recent years has been the semi-annual MVP straw poll conducted by Tim Bontemps of ESPN. Bontemps reaches out to NBA media members across the country, trying to imitate the voting pool as closely as possible and create as accurate a predictive measure as possible.
He polls this voting group of 100 three times throughout the season, trying to gauge where the MVP race stands at various points. He conducted his final poll and published the results on Friday, which unsurprisingly showed Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as a clear leader in the clubhouse, with Victor Wembanyama in second place.
There were no real surprises with Nikola Jokic in third place and Luka Doncic in fourth. The good news for Celtics fans is just beyond that: Jaylen Brown came in fifth place in the poll, well clear of any other contender.Â
A top-5 MVP finish for JB would be an amazing accomplishment
JB received 1 first-place vote, 2 second-place votes, 2 third-place votes, 7 fourth-place votes, and 68 fifth-place votes, appearing on 80 of 100 ballots, and receiving 129 total points. He wasn’t exactly knocking on the door of the top four (although Doncic didn’t receive a single first-place vote and Jokic only got three), but there was an even wider gap between the top five and everyone else.
Only five other players even appeared on a single ballot, with Tyrese Maxey, Jalen Brunson, and Anthony Edwards each receiving a single fifth-place vote, Donovan Mitchell receiving 1 fourth-place vote and 6 fifth-place votes, and Kawhi Leonard receiving 1 fourth-place vote and 14 fifth-place votes.
Straw poll a great sign for Jaylen’s first-team All-NBA campaign
Obviously, JB isn’t going to win the MVP award, but a top-five finish is nothing to sneeze at and an incredible, well-deserved achievement, worthy of the season he has had. Beyond that, this poll is a great indication that Brown is in position to make first-team All-NBA for the first time in his career.
To solidify the situation even further, since the release of this poll, two of the ten contenders have been eliminated due to the 65-game rule, as Edwards and Doncic have now fallen short. That only works to cement JB’s case and push him even closer to lock status.
This poll isn’t gospel, but it’s as good a sneak peek as we are going to get, and one that generally does a good job of forecasting the outcome. Let’s hope so, and let’s hope that Brown earns his just due for his phenomenal season.