| RANK | PLAYER | RUNDOWN | LAST |
| 1 |  |
LeBRON JAMES, F, MIAMI: It’s becoming harder and harder to dislike the guy, especially after he made a rare strong PR move by following the fan arrested at Heat-Cavs in Cleveland for running on the court. More on that here. This week included 12-for-15 shooting vs. Detroit and triple-double vs. Cavs. Might be unanimous MVP. But as we learned three years ago, you never know. | 1 |
| 2 |  |
TONY PARKER, G, SAN ANTONIO: Went through tough love period here over past two weeks as he sat out eight games with ankle sprain. But he returned sooner than expected, and with chants of “MVP” scored six of his 22 points in OT of a 104-97 win over the fading Jazz. Spurs went 6-2 without him, and I won’t let an 8-game absence discount him on my Second-Most Valuable Player ballot. | 5 |
| 3 |  |
DWYANE WADE, G, MIAMI: The temptation to move Kevin Durant here was strong, but why should I reward a guy when his team just lost back-to-back to Nuggets and Grizzlies? When was the last time Thunder defeated a quality foe (and no, the Knicks, Jazz and Celtics don’t count)? It was March 3 at the Clippers. The Thunder are the NBA’s Gonzaga. Trading Harden will haunt them forever. | 2 |
| 4 | ![]("http://sheridanhoops.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/OKC_Durant_Kevin-e1352656994258.jpg "OKC_Durant_Kevin") |
KEVIN DURANT, F, OKLAHOMA CITY: A solid fourth. Has five 30-point games this month after only three in February. OKC has a cupcake schedule rest of the way but still has to keep an eye on the rear-view mirror. If the Nuggets catch Thunder, Denver gets No. 2 seed by virtue of winning season series 3-1. No, I am not in love with the Thunder. But “The Peake” is a fun place to watch a ballgame. | 3 |
| 5 |  |
CHRIS PAUL, G, LA CLIPPERS: Rankings get a little murky at this point. No one from here down will – or should – get any first place votes. With CP3, it’s not what he’s done lately, it’s what he’s done this season. Look, if it wasn’t for 17-game streak Paul directed early this season, they wouldn’t be in virtual tie with Nuggets (see intro). And even if Grizzlies finish better, Clips get 4 seed and homecourt. | 4 |
| 6 |  |
TIM DUNCAN, F-C, SAN ANTONIO: Rebound totals of 16-13-19-15 in last four have him averaging 10.1, double-double territory for the old geezer with the cool classic car collection that you can see here. Our season-long infatuation with his FT shooting yields this: He was 18-of-20 last week, improving to .811. Next, I call shameless attention to our Jan Hubbard’s five-part series on Spurs history. | 7 |
| 7 |  |
KOBE BRYANT, G, LA LAKERS: How any times will we hear Kobe and Dwight aren’t the best of friends? Kobe has never been best friends with any teammate; even on Team USA, he was often aloof and alone save for practice. He is an oddball, but damn, he’s still got it. Question of the week: Which coach will he play for next season? I don’t think D’Antoni survives unless Lakers make conference finals. | 5 |
| 8 |  |
STEPHEN CURRY, GOLDEN STATE: Back with a bullet after a four-game week with point totals of 29-30-24-35 on 54 percent shooting. Will be forced to use Wes Mathews’ photo as his Twitter avatar until Marquette loses in NCAAs, which might not happen if the gods smile on college game. Looking more and more like Dubs will face hated Clips in playoffs. Teams split season series 2-2. | – |
| 9 |  |
JAMES HARDEN, G, HOUSTON: Went to the line 18 times in big win over Utah, making 17. Guy goes to the line like Dwyane Wade circa 2006. That was the fourth time he has taken at least 18 in a game and has 10-plus 37 times. He has taken a league-leading 684 FTs and is converting at a shade under 86 percent. The guy defines “valuable” if Rockets make playoffs. | 9 |
| 10 |  |
PAUL GEORGE, G-F, INDIANA: Dreadful night at Chicago on Saturday drops him to his season-low in rankings. Still a big part of what could be a dangerous team if fully healthy. But that is quite iffy due to status of Danny Granger and, to a lesser degree, David West. But if he doesn’t have a solid week, he might just get bumped in next week’s rankings by Carmelo Anthony. Yes, that is a threat. | 8 |
DROPPED OUT: Kevin Garnett (10).
TEAMS CONSPICUOUSLY UNREPRESENTED: Denver Nuggets, Memphis Grizzlies, New York Knicks, Chicago Bulls, Brooklyn Nets.
OTHER RANKINGS: Top 15 Free Agents | Most Improved | Rookies | Heisler’s Power Rankings | Sixth Man | Euroleague | Top 20 Draft Prospects
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Chris Sheridan, a 20-year veteran basketball writer, is publisher and editor-in-chief of SheridanHoops.com. Follow him on Twitter.
Lebron James should be MVP
Warriors 3-1 not 2-2 vs Clippers as mentioned in your Steph Curry rating. Love your website!!
I’d have a hard time with two teammates being in the top 6 MVP choices (as you have with James/Wade and Parker/Duncan). To me, if both of them are that valuable, then they are more of a tandem that individual MVP candidates. Accordingly, I wouldn’t have Wade in my top 3, or Duncan at #6. Harden would also be a little higher for me…but overall it’s a solid list.