The race for NBA MVP might already be over.
ESPN NBA writer Tim Bontemps does a couple league MVP straw polls each season, and nearly all of the people who take part in it actually have a real vote for the award, which makes it a pretty accurate representation of which players voters prefer at that time.
The latest (and final) poll, which was released Tuesday, has some pretty definitive results.
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Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, who won back-to-back MVPs in 2020-21 and 2021-22, is the overwhelming leader to win for a third time. He received 85 first-place votes and 935 total voting points. Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finished a distant second with 10 first-place votes and 626 total voting points.
Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum, who was fifth in the previous straw poll, is again fifth in the latest one. He received 98 voting points in the previous one, compared to 69 this time.
One interesting observation from the latest straw poll is Jaylen Brown breaking into the top 10. He received one fifth-place vote. It's the first time all season that both Tatum and Brown have been in the top 10 of Bontemps' MVP straw poll.
It's a deserved inclusion for Brown, who has played awesome since the All-Star break. He's averaging 27.1 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game, while shooting 40.3 percent from 3-point range during that span. His defense has been exceptional, too.
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Based on the results of Bontemps' latest poll, it looks like the Celtics' MVP drought will extend to 38 seasons. The last Celtics player to win league MVP was Larry Bird, who took home the award three consecutive years from 1983-84 through 1985-86.
Winning league MVP would be a great accomplishment for Tatum, Brown, or any other Celtics player, but this franchise has more important goals to prioritize, most notably the pursuit of Banner 18.
NBA Finals MVP is the trophy these guys really should be pursuing. And given how well the Celtics have played this season -- a league-leading 59-16 record entering Wednesday -- you could make a strong case that they will be the title favorites when the playoffs start later this month.