Brian Windhorst & The Hoop Collective - 1st MVP Straw Poll - Historic Race Coming?

Episode Date: December 19, 2025

Brian Windhorst is joined by ESPN's Tim Bontemps and Tim MacMahon to react to Bontemps’ 1st MVP Straw Poll of the season including if we are set for another historic battle between Jokic and SGA, some surprising newcomers to the list and who truly has a chance for the award this season. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, sports fans, the ESPN app has all of ESPN all in one place. The ESPN app is your home to thousands of live events, ESPN shows, and originals across every ESPN network and service. And now you can check if you already have ESPN Unlimited as part of your TV package for no additional calls. Visit activate.esPN.com to learn how to access your account or sign up, then start streaming in the ESPN app. It's all of ESPN all in one place. Sign up or activate now. HOOP Collective podcast, we talk about the NBA, which we are doing at a special time this week, because today is a special day. Joining us from Los Angeles at the LAPC, LAPC Operations Center for ESPN is Timontops.

Hello, everybody. Joining us from Dallas, Texas, McMahon, he had to go to L.A. because it's a special time. It's a special week. His band McMahon. Howdy, partners. This is prime time for Bong-Tam. You know, he's got to be in studio in the spotlight. This is the old USWBs, time to shine, baby.

That's right. So here we have fresh just before Christmas, one of our three special days of the year, where the Bon Temps MVP straw poll is debuted. The poll has routinely over the last seven, eight years, Bon Temps? Last several years. Okay. Routinely accurately predicted. the not only the MVP winner, but pretty much pretty close to the actual ratios of the, of the

selections. And so, Bont Temps made his straw poll amongst the MVP, probable MVP voters earlier this week. And I will let you say what the methodology was. But I think the key thing to point out and why this poll has been proven valuable is not because of Bontemp's charm or his loquaciousness. Clearly. Those things are not true, so they would definitely not be that. Yes. It's because the MVP award is done across all 28 MDA cities with a selection of local media, not just writers, but also broadcasters and radio people, and national media, and in some cases, international media. And Bontemps surveys that entire field. So it is not just his friends, because he'd never get 100 votes. We wouldn't get a dozen. Wouldn't be close.

Somebody said to me, you're the only person that can do this because you have that many friends across the league. I said, no, I'm just the only person annoying enough to get honored people to respond to me. Right. You can get it done. All right. So with all that, Mr. Bon Temps, I turn it over to you as the first of three planned. Bondem's polls, I believe it's three, right? You do three?

Yeah, there'll be three. The first of three is ready. Yeah. And because Devon, one of our super producers was asking me what the methodology is and how this works before we started, just in case people don't know. As you said, we try to go through and replicate what the end-of-season voting pool is, which is we have people from all 28 NBA markets voting. And then on top of that, we have national media voting, including the two jokers on the pod with me.

And then international media from across the world. To try to do our best to show where the race sits at this point in time, and obviously gets more solid towards the end of the year. And I double-checked. It's been six years in a row that we've had the right answer at the end of the season. So we'll see if it's seven. You've just been doing it for six years. The first year I did it, the very first year in the Washington Post of 2017,

when I came up with the idea, it was the year Hardin, Russ, Kauai and LeBron went down to the end. And Hardin was ahead in the straw pole. I did one straw poll in March, like six weeks before the season ended. And Hardin was in first. And obviously, Russ had the memorable triple double season, had the crazy game in Denver. And at the end, it broke towards them at the end. So that's the one that was wrong.

But after that, the rest of them have been accurate. There was a gap year in the middle. So we're in six years in a row. So all that being explained and out of the way, we'll start at the bottom. 14 guys got at least one vote. Three players got a single fifth place vote. Atlanta Hawksford. Jalen Johnson, one fifth place vote.

It's a very good season for the Hawks. I respect it. I respect it. Cavs Corner gets represented. Donovan Mitchell had one fifth place vote. I respect it, but it's a tough sell. It's a tough sale right now. It's a tough sell, and it's a tough sell for the guy who also got one fifth place vote, despite also being awesome.

Stephan Curry, Golden State Warrior's star, he also got one fifth place vote. Obviously, Steph and Donovan have had great individual seasons. their teams have been far less than that, especially lately. Sort of similar for Jalen Johnson. He's really broken through. Had a great year. But those three guys all the time. Yeah, he's had four or five already.

But those three guys tied for 12th with one fifth place vote each. 11th place, one fourth place vote, two fifth place votes, three total, five total points. Timberwolds guard Anthony Edwards. I was a little surprised Aunt didn't get more votes than this. Obviously Minnesota's had, as we've talked about, an up and down season. He's missed the last couple games with this foot issue.

I wouldn't be surprised if Aunt moves up a little bit more in the next one. If Minnesota gets its act together and starts beating some winning teams, or also are some guys ahead of them who could. Is it fair to say that Ann Edwards is underrated as a player? For a guy who's all over commercials and stuff, I think he's underrated. By the way, he's, I'm sorry, McMahon, go ahead. Was he first or second team all-M-Ba last year?

Anthony Edwards, I believe, was first team. No, he wasn't first team. But this year, Bontemps, he's averaging a career high 29 points, shooting a career high of 50% from the field. The career high, 42% on three, averaging four assists, one and a half, steals a game, shooting 83% from the line. So right now doing 50, 40, 80 on career highs and points.

And, you know, like, I'm not so much in this. I'm not just saying MVP because I'm not arguing he should be an MVP serious candidate. But I just think in general he doesn't get, you know, and I don't know if it's a Minnesota thing, but he doesn't, this is a guy who's won. Like, I think he should be more popular than he is. You think I'm off, McMahon? second team all NBA the last two years just check that. And I think that's about where he is.

I do think he's very popular. I mean, every time you turn on a game, the commercial, he's on there, whether it's a. I think without going into details, his metrics show that he's, I think he should be more popular. You're talking about like Jersey sales and, you know. Yes, and various metrics internally to SPN that I'm not going to get into. He doesn't have as much support as other guys who I think have lesser resumes.

So one one slight tweak because I had a typo in this. The Donovan Mitchell is actually 10th with one fourth place vote and three fifth place votes for total points. That's it. That's rich. Well, did Ant just get knocked down while I was talking? No. No. The aunt was what I had Donovan Mitchell's name in here twice because I accidentally didn't have the name of the one other person who had one fifth place vote.

It wasn't Donovan Mitchell. It was Alperin Shingoon, Rocket Center, who's at a very, obviously. a great year. We talked about him a bunch from Turkey A, yes. We talked about him a bunch on Wednesday's pod, obviously for his play late in that game against Nicole Yokic and the Nuggets on Monday. So he was tied for 12th with Stefan Jalen Johnson.

Anthony Edwards, 11th, five total points. Donovan Mitchell, 10th, six total points. In ninth place, two fourth place votes, nine fifth place votes, 11 total votes, 15 total points. Jalen Brown, Celtics Guard, or Celtics forward, swing man, having his best season of his career by a mile. Obviously, the number one offensive option for Boston. His points, rebounds of the assists are all career highs, field goal percentage is career highs.

He's shooting a ton, carrying a huge load for Boston. You know, the Celtics went on this recent nice surge, got himself some consideration at the bottom of the ballot. Not sure he's going to get much higher, but I think it's good recognition. of the start to the season he's at. I should say, Brad Stevens spoke to the media in Boston. He hasn't done that since I think the season of the season. And of course he got out. He was very praise.

He thinks the team is doing very well, all things considering. Praise Jalen Brown, praise some of their other players. He was, of course, asked for a timeline on Jason Tatum. He, of course, didn't give one. He did list off a whole bunch of steps that Tatum still has to go through. You know, he's not, he doesn't have the clearance for the strength yet to do any sort of real activity. But he pointed out that they have not applied for the disabled player exception.

Yeah, that is correct. I don't think they were going to spend that money anyway, but he- Actions over words. Right. And he pointed that out. So let that be just a little comment on the Celtics. Oh, and the Celtics are exceeding expectations given the circumstances and not just Tatum, not being on the floor, but the trades that they made over the summer to shed salary. And that's in large part because Jaylon Brown is having a fringe MVP candidate type of year. Yeah, and look, like we've talked about before, if Tatum can come back and be some facsimile of his former self with Jerich White, with Jalen Brown, with Patent Pritchard,

the Celtics are going to be a team. No one's going to want to play, at least, in the East playoffs. I'm not saying they're going to win three rounds, but they will be a difficult out with the way they play, the toughness they have, the playoff experience they have, so that'll be interesting. More Hoop Collective Podcast after this. All right. Eighth place, one third place vote, three fourth place votes, four fifth place votes, eight total votes, 18 total points.

Spurs Center, Victor Wenbanyama. We now start to get into the part of the ballot where there's a couple different guys who could easily wind up not being eligible. Victor certainly is going to be a candidate for that. He's already missed 12 games. He does by playing in the NBA Cup championship game, get an extra game. So that's the only thing that counts for is a 65 game rule. That could obviously come into play. That means he can miss 18 games instead of 17. And there is a little wiggle room you have for minutes played if you're injured, et cetera. So maybe he could stretch an extra game or two beyond that.

But certainly, if Victor could stay healthy the rest of the season, he's going to have a great chance to win defensive player of the year. And he certainly's got a chance to be in the mix for this award. And if he does stay healthy between now and the second poll, couple of months. The way the Spurs are playing would not surprise me if he's a lot higher next time. Yeah, I'm one of the fifth place votes there. Full transparency. You asked for my vote on Monday, so pretty fresh off of his performance in the NBA Cup semifinals. I came to the conclusion that, look, if he's eligible now, then I'm going to vote right now. Not on percentage

of games, but he's eligible for the award right now. Which is what I tell people to me, I don't, I don't believe in, well, the guy's on pace to not qualify, so it doesn't matter. Like, if you're eligible, you're eligible to be voted for. Yeah. I like that. Like this two-way impact is that massive, despite the fact that these spurs did go nine and three without them, which I don't think hurts his case as much as I think it tells you that the spurs are to be taken seriously.

I figured Brian would want to talk about his guy. I, you know, he's played 13 games so far. I guess 14. He's got really good numbers. I think if the spur. are a top four team in the West, which would be a tremendous accomplishment. I honestly think if they're a top six team, they should have a little private party. But if they're a top four team in the West, it will be because he's had a great season. And if they're a top four team

in the West, he should, he'll have a great chance, I think, to get on the top five. And frankly, if you, considering the level of talent, if you can get on the top five in this current environment, when so many other guys who are MVP candidates are already MVP winners and are still in their prime. I think it will have been amazing. I think that would be an incredible accomplishment for him. Two McMahon's point, though, to McMan's point, though, they are on pace to be a top four team. I think they've got a very good chance to be a top four team, and half the time that has been done with him not playing. So while I agree with you, and I think what we said before the season, if they're a top six team, Victor's going to be probably first team all in B.A. and on MVP ballots, like the way

the season's gone is also, as we've talked about a bunch over the last week, been a recognition of the fact that the spurs are arriving faster to the station than we anticipated they would. And look, if he has 65 games, he's going to be a defense play of the year. That's the only question is if he's eligible or not. 100%. He's the dominant defensive force in the league. There's not a case against that. Wendy, did you give him one of your votes?

I did not. Fontims? I don't vote. Okay. So I don't vote in the actual thing. But so we just. Yeah, I'll get my vote for that day. How do you know this year you won't be invited on that?

I talk trash about Notre Dame football to a very important person. Kind of rub his face. The man keeps up his status of whining about things, but then making sure he doesn't get the... It's like me with league pass. I just continue to keep complaining about it. I don't do anything to address it. I recently gave a referee the too small gesture while I was seated at the scores. That is also a fact.

All right. You both recently did that and in the moderate past and in the distant past. Yeah, I was going to say. It's a very consistent theme. Very consistent theme. As consistent as the straw poll. All right. In seventh place, one third place vote, four fourth place votes, eight fifth place votes,

13 total votes, 25 total points, first time entrant in the straw poll. Oh. Got any guesses? First time entrant in the straw poll. That is a good clue here. It's having a monster year. Kate Cunningham's had to have been in this before. Cade.

Cade is in the poll, but is not the answer. Tyrese Maxie. Tyrese Maxie. Tyrese Maxie. Wow. Yeah. Tyres Maxie. Hey, that's all the year.

He's on that court. Yes. Having a phenomenal season, obviously, one of the league leaders in scoring has missed the last couple games with an illness, but with all the ins and outs for Paul George and Joel Embed and all these other guys on the Sixers. Maxie has been the driving force behind them having a pretty nice, surprising start to their season. And, you know, I don't know if he's, you certainly got a chance to be an All-N-B-A player at the end of the year. And, you know, look, I'm not sure he's going to get much higher than this.

But if he keeps playing like this and the Sixers remain in the hunt for a top six spot in the east, Tari's Maxi's going to remain on balance, I would guess, through the season. You know, I didn't even consider him at 5th. And I'm glad this is one of things that, you know, the straw poll helps the voters, too. Like I, I, there's no reason not to, but I didn't consider him. Yeah, no, I honestly didn't either. I went with Wimby, but I considered the other two guys that I considered were Jailans. Yes.

Well, we'll get to, we'll get to another Jalen in a second. There's been multiple Jalens in this poll already. Well, what we've, we've named one. Actually, we named two. Yeah. Yeah. Not Johnson, but Brown and the guy we're about to get to, I think. The guy we're getting to.

All right. So, six place, one third place vote, eight fourth place votes, three fifth place votes, 12 total votes and 32 total points. That would be Janice Ante Dacupo, who is the only player who's been in every single edition of the straw poll going back to 2017. And who is in pretty serious danger of that streak ending because of the injuries he has had. And, you know, I think if he had not suffered this second.

this second injury a couple weeks back or a week back. My guess is he would have been third or fourth and on just about every ballot. Instead, he has hurt again. He may not be eligible by the time we get to the new year. And as a result, he's a fringe guy now. But if he does come back and does stay healthy, the numbers he's putting up again. He's another guy that could easily skyrocket up this thing in a couple of months if he's still eligible to be voted for. I did not put him on my ballot.

even though I agree with McMahon. I kind of am going to adopt your premise, McMahon. If you're eligible now, I think you should. But that said, I didn't put him on my ballot, probably for the first time in years, because I didn't think he would be eligible in the end. So I was going to say, I was a hypocrite here because, you know, Wimby had come back

and he's going to be on the floor, hopefully, for the rest of the season with a game off here and there. I don't think Yonis is coming back soon. I wonder if Janus is coming back in a Bucks uniform. So I didn't put him on my ballot because I'm not forecasting him to be eligible. So I will acknowledge that that is being a hypocrite. But that was my law. I take it all back. I take it all back.

All right. So fifth place, five third place votes. So still no first or second place votes. 13, fourth place votes, 42, fifth place votes, 60 total, 106 total points. We have any guesses on who this is? I'm going to say this is the other Jalen. This is the Emirates Cup MVP. That is correct.

Emirates Cup MVP, Jalen Brunson. Which reminds me, I do have a suggestion. Okay. More suggestions. I think that the straw poll winner, the first straw poll winner, the second strong poll winner, I think they should like at least put helium in a balloon and raise that to the rafters. Would you tie the balloon off with a ribbon? Sure.

I like that. So, you know, it didn't have to stay up forever, but at least that it would be up there for a little while. I had Jalen 5th on my ballot. By the way, I suspect Bontem's, this is the first guy that I voted for, that my five people were in the top five. I would guess so. I would say, I think it's a safe guess. Mike Brown came out after the game last night and called on the media to start including Jalen Brown more in the MVP. Jalen Brinson Moore.

That was after the semifinal. He's done that repeatedly over the past week or so. That's not a new. First, he belched because he'd thrown down some beer. And then he called for more attention to. What can beer is Mike Brown drinking back there? Good question. See, that's kind of...

What kind of beer do you think, you know, you're the beer expert. Whatever the... I would guess whatever the sponsor was. Mick Ultra? Is that a sponsor? That doesn't really make you burbs. It's not strong enough. I bet he's a Mexican logger guy.

I know Kerr's a Mexican logger guy and he was on that Kerr staff. Yeah, you think some Modelo? Is that what you're thinking? Yeah. Safe back. Is Modelo readily available in New York City, Pontems? February. Yes, of course.

Okay, just asking. What do you mean? The world's greatest city. I'm not a drink. I'm not a beer drink. That is true. But yes, you can get medellos there among basically anything else. When I lived in New York City, it was hard to get Mexican chorizo.

You'd go to these restaurants and they claim to have chorizo and it was Spanish chorizo. Yes, Kbon, who is from California, is not a fan of the fact that there's no, there's no good Mexican nearby. There's a Mexican place near our apartment. and whenever we walk by it, she gets very mad because it is full of people, and she is not a fan of the food there. I'm going to second that. But you know what else you can't get in New York City? A NBA Cup banner.

Because after Mike Brown, after Mike Brown, repeatedly said there was going to be a banner. He told the team there was going to be a banner. He said after the game, there might be a banner. It just won't be in the rafters. If you get a chance to raise a banner to the storied roof of Madison Square Garden, you have to do it. What happens?

James Dolan says, nah, we're not doing that. Oh, we're not doing that. You think I'm going to be a good partner to the NBA, screw that. No, not doing it.

And I make fun of the raising a ribbon and all that thing. But I'm sorry, dude. It ain't like the rafters are full up there. I mean, it's not like the Knicks are hanging. They are full in L.A. And they still put it up there.

Exactly. It's just a very silly. It's just a very petty and silly thing to do. Not that that is surprising. given who we're talking about. But like, look, people can mock the NBA Cup. I saw Brian was on with Mad Dog Russo today who had an unbelievable rant about, you know,

Dean Meminger and guys from the 70s. And like, but if you watch that. He said Dave the Busher didn't worry about the NBA Cup. He went through every guy on the 70s, Knicks. It was very entertaining. However, I was at the game. The players were really excited that they won. They were into the game.

It was a fun thing. Mike Brown, like, talked to the team about it. They openly were celebrating the fact that they won something. They were bringing it back to New York. And now because James Dolan has this feud with Adam Silver and the league office, that he's not going to have him do it. I just think, Jeannie Bus, Jeannie Bus, you know, the Lakers won the first NBA Cup. And if the Lakers had said, look, we've got 17 banners up there.

We got all these statues outside. We have all this history. The standard for putting, you know, the stars on the court are for, you know, the go around the center logo. That's our standard. That's how we do it. Like I would have had a hard time going against that premise, okay? But she said as a partner in the league, and I know that this is going to be this case,

and I know that this is, you know, going to potentially be a big thing. And I want to be on the right side of history. So she set the standard. And she put the banner up. And then the bucks, you know, right next their championship banner. And in fact, you know, the Lakers banner kind of, you know, it sort of sticks out because it's sort of a different, which is fine. The Bucks put like a proper banner right next to their championship banner.

Their recent championship banner, might I have. Not a championship banner that was from before I was born. And I'm a cold. There's a lot of gray in that beard. Yes. When the straw pole started, that beard was not great. It was it, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, disappointing reaction, I would say from, uh, Nick's leadership.

We'll just put it that way. Yep. The, here's the thing for Jalen. Runson. He is having a great season. The bar that he would have to clear to win the award is extraordinary. I think as Mr. Abont-Temps is about to. Yeah, for sure. I mean, his ceiling is third or fourth, I would say. In fourth, one second place vote, 17 third place votes, 53 fourth place votes, 25th place votes, 91 total ballots, 271 total points. Who is it?

This is a very strong spot for Cade Cunningham. That's a really good number of balance. It's a very strong spot. It's a very strong spot for Metroplex Native, Cade Cunningham. He is fourth on the list. I think this is a deserved tip of the cap to the way the Pistons have played this season. They're 21 and 5 off to a fantastic start. Cade is having a really good season.

I will be a little surprised if Cade. continues to be in the top five by the end of the season. He's having a really nice year. But, like, for example, I could see him maybe being fifth or sixth if Detroit falls down the standings a little bit. But if Detroit stays first in the east, he'll probably stay right in this kind of range. And the Pistons have been one of the, I mean, they've kind of been overshadowed the last week or so because of the spurs and not being in the cup playoffs and stuff.

but the fact that Detroit is 21 and 5 with, you know, they don't have an overwhelming roster full of talent. They've got young guys that are really exciting, but they haven't made some big trade. They haven't done any big signings. But it's an awesome story. It's a great job of J.B. Bickerstaff, as we've talked about. And I think it's cool to see Cade get this kind of attention early on. And it's a good recognition of what Detroit is doing. Well, he's been terrific in clutch situations so far.

ideally, and some of the folks I think that you're going to be saying next, because we're about to get into the cream of the crop here, they don't even have to play in clutch situations because they're dominating so much. So in one way, like, it helps you. And the other way, you know, having to do all that is more of an indication of your team. Sure. But he is likely to lone All-Star on a team that has a second best record in the league. So this is absolutely, this is exactly where I have.

Adam was fourth on the ballot. Yep. And he was the one guy. There was, so we had 99 second place votes among the top three guys. Cade was the one guy who got a second place vote outside of that and was the only other guy who had any, you know, meaningful more than five votes for third place. So he clearly established himself as fourth on the ballot. More hoop collective podcast after this.

So, all right. Third place. One first place vote. The Americans can sit down. That is correct. We are done with the American portion of the ballot. One first place vote. One second place vote. Oh, 74 third place votes. 13 fourth place votes and six fifth place votes. 95 total votes and 432 total points. I think this one is pretty easy to guess. Luca Donchich. That is correct. Los Angeles Lakers guard, Luca Donchich, who has had a great year. Was that if you could if you could throw a rock right now, would you hit the person who cast that first place vote?

Was that a L.A. based vote? No, it was not an L.A. based person. Was it a European based vote? Nope. Because I got to tell you, this is a two horse race right now. Not saying that Luca is so far behind that he can't get in it, but this is a two horse race. I mean, Luca is averaging 35, 9 and 9. He's league in scoring.

And the Lakers are a lot better than I thought. were going to be. I mean, 35, 9, and 9. I mean, that's... I don't think I agree with you, McMahon. Like, I mean, the top two guys who were about to get to got a preponderance of the votes. I don't think it's a crime that Luca got a first place vote. Now, listen, I just think the top two guys having such ridiculous seasons that the standard to get a first or second place vote is that high. But Luke is having the kind of season that when you saw the shape he got in over the summer, you expected him to have. I mean, you know, 35-9 and 9 is not shocking.

He had basically 34-10-9 in his last year in Dallas before some folks around here so I would be a good idea to trade him. You know, so. But I just think that there is a tier here and he is the top of the second tier. I think the-Lakers? I guess, yeah, I guess that's true. I mean, that's obviously true. The voting reflects that.

What's that? I said, that's obviously true. The voting reflects that. I mean, there were 99 first place votes and 98 second place votes among the top two people. I would say there's a pretty clear cliff. Right. There's first and second. There's third, fourth, and fifth.

And then there's everybody else. Yeah. Before you do this, Jackson, can you give us the updated draft king's numbers? Do you have them anywhere near there for? for what the odds are. Are you working with me, Jackson? Jackson's also in L.A.

I know. He's also in L.A. hotel room he was in. It had like the good, fancy, like, textured wallpaper. Just saying. You have any textured wallpaper in your renovation that you're doing? Ah, God, I hope not because I was informed with some of the wallpaper prices. All right, well, Jackson gets that.

I just want to see where the odds are based on where with the voting is. Yeah, the only thing I'll say about Luca is I, while I do, well, there obviously is a tier at the top. I do think Luca has the opportunity to move up higher if he continues to play like this, both because there's an obvious, there's an obvious additional attention that comes with being on the Lakers. and if the Lakers end up in the top four, say, right, in the West, where I don't think they're going to, it's probably going to be because this guy continues to put up astronomical numbers and they exceed expectations. And if the Lakers exceed expectations, that's a good way to get plenty of attention and support in this poll at a later date. Yeah.

The other thing he's got going against him now is games played. And not that he's not going to make the minimum, but for the last. For example, if Shea ends up playing 78, 79 games, which is about where he's missed a game. If the Joker ends up playing 78, 79 games, and Luca comes in at, you know, 68, you know, 10, 11, 12 games, there's value in games played as well. It is absolutely. Don't bring me back to that. Well, it's the truth. Okay, so the Draft King's numbers, Luca is third at plus 320.

Yep. And it's basically a dead heat. SGA is favored right now, a plus 160, Yokic a plus 170. Yeah. So, it sounds about right. Bontemps, what do the voters think?

Well, I will also say that each of the last five years, the person who has finished in first place in the first poll, has not gone on to win, uh, win the award. So we will see that the last time it happened was the first year I did it at ESPN six years ago and Janus led in both and won.

Um, at some point, like the defending champion streak, I expect, uh, that, that street to be broken, but it has yet to be so far. We'll see if this year is different. Um, so in second place with 42 first place votes, 57 second place votes and a fourth place vote, one of two players to have 100 total points, uh, our total votes on every single ballot, with 822 total points. Want to guess who it is? Joker. I say Shea. I say Shea. Just to pick the other one.

It is Nicole Yokic. How could somebody give him a fourth place vote? And so in, that's a passion vote. So hold on. So in first place, with 57 first place votes, 41 second place votes, a third place vote and a fourth place vote. 100 total ballots. And 865 total points.

Oh, man. That's tight, buddy. It's Shegildas Alexander. And again, much like last year at the end of the year, I'm not going to sit here and tell you why one or the others shouldn't be the guy. But let me just put in perspective, Joker, who I had second on the ballot, let me put in perspective his season right now. He is averaging a career high 29.8 points per game. He's averaging a career high in league leading 10.8 assists.

He's leading the league with 12.4 rebounds, which is one of his career highs. it's tied for his third best. And the guy is shooting 61.3% from the floor, the second best of his career. So you're saying that averaging a 30 point triple double, shooting 61% from the field is second place? Well, and then if you want to talk about what Shea's doing, and I went with Shea simply because, look,

if the Thunder are going to break the record for wins in the season with him having these kind of numbers, I'm going with the guy who's on the record-breaking team, right? But, like, Shea's numbers are just as insane. And again, Shea's having a better season this year than he did last year when he won the MVP. The scoring is right about even, 32.4 this season. The assists are even.

You know, the minutes are down, though, because they're just smoking everything. Yeah, you know, we made a big deal, and we were kind of tracking a couple years ago when Joelle and Bede was averaging a point a minute. You remember that, Bontemps? like he ended up getting hurt, but he was like the first guy since Chamberlain. And I don't expect this to keep up because for various reasons.

But I'm sorry to cut you off, McMahon. Shea is averaging 32.4 points in 33 minutes. And he's essentially doing it. Dude, Shay is shooting 56% from the floor as a guard, the best in his career by far. He's shooting by far the best in his career, 43.7. That's just an amazing number. His numbers are 56, 44, 88. And he's averaging 32 and change with that kind of efficiency and, you know, a significant playmaker, major contributor to a defense that is best in the league by a country mile.

Yeah. Yeah, go ahead. And if they're going to win 72, 73, 75 games, I'm sorry. I'm going to go, I'm going to vote with the guy whose team's having his story. Yeah, I don't think there's, you know, you, you can. can't create a case against these guys. No, they're both awesome. And I actually think, though, and again, all this is obviously some educated guesswork,

but I think this is a pretty good result for Nicole Yokic, in terms of whether he's going to win the award. Because I think the Thunder, as I've said, have a very good chance to set the wins record and win over 70 games. I think if the Thunder win over 70 games, I see really no way that Shaguel's Alexander doesn't win MVP because, as you said, McMahon, the tie is going to go to the guy with the all-time great team, you would think, when the numbers are this close.

If, though, the Thunder drop off at all and win 68 games, which is still awesome, but it's not 70 games, I would say this opening ballot shows that with the race this close, the tiebreaker probably is going to be how good are the Thunder. And so if the Thunder are over 70, they're one of the three teams ever do that, I'd guess Shea went to second straight MVP. If they win 68 again, it would not surprise me at all if Yokic wins MVP, at least as of today, because if it's that close now and the one guy's team is 24 and 2, then there's a lot of runway for the second place guy to catch up in a race when obviously we're splitting hairs. Well, we came in in the season saying that the bar for Shay to repeat as MVP was going to be extraordinarily high. and the thunder winning 70 plus game clears that bar with him putting up these sort of numbers with that kind of efficiency.

I think what the straw poll illustrates is something that we thought was the case going into it. The bar for Luca or Cade or anybody else to really get into it and make it a three horse race is ridiculously high. And like for Luke it's going to require, continue to put up the numbers he's putting up, which he'll do. that. I think his efficiency will probably even improve. He's not shot at three grade. And the Lakers are probably going to end up being a top three C in the West for him to have a realistic shot of being in the mix on this deal. And that, and that's it. I think barring injury, I don't think there's anybody else who has any sort of realistic shot to get in the mix. Like, sure, I guess if the Knicks win 25 games in a row or the Pistons win another 25 games in a row

or something crazy happens. Yeah, sure. You could make an argument for somebody else, maybe. Or, like, I guess the only other person I'd maybe say is if Janus or Victor stay totally healthy and rip off huge stats and their teams go crazy, maybe they can get in the mix a little bit. But to me, it's Luca, if he continues playing like this and either of these guys slip a little bit, and that's it.

Because they're just doing historic things and they're way ahead of the pack. The Lakers could finish second in the West if the right set of circumstances has happened. If they do that, look at their record right now. If the Lakers finish second in the West with Luca playing like this, that's the sort of scenario where you can get in. They're not going to do it by the way they're playing right now because by the way, the last 10 games, the Lakers have the 27th defense and JJ Redick.

But that's my point. Like the Lakers are a flawed, like we've talked about, the Lakers are a good but flawed team. And if they, if they finish ahead of everybody but OKC, it's got to be because this guy's going insane and that will give him a chance. But for Yon is like, look, if he gets healthy and then the. heat end up a top four seed in the east. I can totally see Yonnes doing that. You were talking about efficiency, McMahon?

Allow me a comment on... It just went right by him. That was a good one, man. Okay. I'm sorry. It's because I'm heading towards my sports center hit right now and I'm distracted. What did he say?

We'll just let the audience make fun of me. All right. Let me speak about efficiency for a moment. So at LeBron's peak, because LeBron got super interested in efficiency in Miami. it became like his obsession. At LeBron's peak, he won the PER, player efficiency rating title six consecutive years.

Okay. And in that stretch, his highest efficiency was 31.7. Player efficiency rating, I don't want to get too much into advanced stats, but anything over 30 is all-time elite. LeBron was over 31, three times in his career. Never was over 32, but that was his height. Will Chamberlain is, you know,

one, you know, it's a little bit harder to be the efficiency. Back in them, you didn't have the three-point shot. Will Chamberlain led the league in efficiency nine times in his career. Okay, he was, you know, pretty great. Shagios Alexander, who we're just talking about how tremendously efficient he is being, like his shooting percentage is way up. Everything is, you know, just great. He's averaging 33.

His P.E.R right now is 32.9. So already Shea, way higher than LeBron's best year. And I know it's when he's been, he's played 25 games. He doesn't play 75, but significantly above LeBron's best year in efficiency at 32.9. Okay? Nikola Yolkich, who is currently trying to lead the P.E.R.

for the sixth straight year. I just said LeBron never was better than 31 in change. Shea is having one of the greatest years on record at 32.9. Yolkich right now is 30. 35.9. Yolkich is the modern day will. I mean, that's really where it's at at this point. He's just breaking all the stats.

Yokic is now the all-time leading P.R guy in history of the NBA. Yeah, I mean, it's like Will. Like, you go back to the 60s, you look at the stats that will put up and the numbers that will put up. And it's crazy to look at the wilt numbers. And it's why it's like Wilt and all the time, right? Sure. Like, we've talked about this for years.

It's going to be like that with Yokic. It's going to be like Yolkich and for all these different stats because there's, it's just insane to be putting up point guard numbers with crazy efficiency while also getting 12, 13, 14, 15 rebounds a game. Like, it's just, it's video game stuff. To lead the league and assist and rebounds while shooting better than 60% from the floor is nuts. And, you know, Michael Ballone when they came through OKC last year and Joker had the crazy game. And Malone's stumping for him to be MVP. So if you just put the numbers on, you know, blindly on a sheet of paper, you're picking him every time. I said, okay, what if you put the records on there, too?

Because that's part of the conversation. And, you know, the thing about like efficiency merchants or all that kind of stuff is a lot of times when guys are hunting efficiency, they're doing it by only taking the quote, you know, great shot, great analytic shots. There are dunks layups in threes. both Joker and Shea, that's not what they are. They're just that skilled. And Shea is actually relying more on mid-range from a percentage standpoint than he ever has. And let me just listen to these numbers.

10 to 16 feet, look at his basketball reference page right now. This year, 10 to 16 feet, he's shooting 58.9% for the floor on those shots. The long two, 16 plus, he's shooting 51.1% on those. And those are either all like off-drivel create space or some of them are, you know, off of a post-ups. And I do just want to say this free throw merchant thing, I'm tired of hearing it. I looked it up. Last year, there's been 47 seasons going to this year where a guard average 30 plus points per game. His free throw attempts per game last year ranked 31st out of those 47 seasons.

Now, they're up a little bit this year, but you know who. are historically high, it's Luca. Great scores, especially... And Luca leads the league in free throw is attempting. It's not a flaw. It's a skill. Being a free throw merchant, like, I don't understand why it's necessarily an insult. But if you're good enough to get fouls and draw the line, it means you're doing well.

Well, and especially these guys who get fouled on mid-range attempts because it's pumpfakes, it's a boy, it's such a good shot for them. We've got to challenge it. It's the footwork. So the whole free throw merchant thing is honestly a stupid internet meme. Well, and the other one other thing to just mention really quick on Che is he is part of a historically great defense and is a actual part of it, which is another thing that when you look at tiebreakers, like, you know, Yolkich has made himself like Steph into a guy who can, you know, not be a disaster on defense over the course of his career. but Shea is a, you know, is a solid part of a all-time great defensive team, which, again, when you're talking about tiebreakers, that could have been a tiebreaker too.

I'm just going to say that, you know, Shea, you know, Kobe is the untouchable guy in the social media area. He's unimpeachable. Kobe took more free throws than Shea. He had, I think, three or four years where he averaged more than 10 free throws a game. Shea's done that once. His career numbers, Kobe averaged more than Shay. Now, Shea may catch him. It's kind of close, but Kobe averaged more.

Did anybody ever accuse Kobe of being a free throw merchant? No, merchant. And again, Brunson's great to get in the line. All the great scores are. That's part of being a great score. It's two things. The craftiness and also you're such a threat, but guys are jumping at things that they won't for most players.

Mr. Bontemps, another beautiful job on the Bontemps poll. B.S. I'm here for. That's right. And now you can shut it down until the next one it would be around what, around trade deadline, around All-Star. Yeah, around then. Yep. Yeah.

All right. All right. Well, thank you so much to Devon and Jackson for putting it together. Thank you very much to McMahon and Bontems. Thank you for watching and listening to The Hoop Collect. We're back with you next week. Argos, amigos.