The 2020-2021 NBA MVP Race: The Finalists

While the 2020-2021 National Basketball Association (NBA) season is far from over, the race to each award the league gives out is now down to three players each.

As expected, the finalists for the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award include Steph Curry of the Golden State Warriors, Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets, and Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers.

Curry, the league's leading scorer this season, played a vital role in keeping the Warriors' chances of making it to the playoffs without Klay Thompson. He averaged 32 points, five rebounds, five assists, and shot 42% from the three-point line and 91% from the free-throw line. On Wednesday's (Thursday Manila time) play-in game against the Los Angeles Lakers, Curry exploded for 37 big points on seven for eight shooting from downtown. Unfortunately, it was LeBron James and company who took a 103-100 win. That and the seventh seed in the Western Conference after that long-distance game-winning trey from LeBron James.

The Warriors will have to play against the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday (Saturday Manila time) to determine who takes the final playoff berth in the West.

Following an impressive playoff run inside the Orlando bubble last year, many expected the Denver Nuggets to go on a deep playoff run this year. And then, Jamal Murray's injury happened. Still, Denver finished the regular season as the third-best team in the Western Conference, and that is because of Nikola Jokic.

Finishing the regular season with 60 double-doubles and 16 triple-doubles (second to Russell Westbrook's 38), Jokic did it all for the Nuggets.

The Joker averaged 26 points, ten rebounds, and eight assists while being one of the 11 players who played all 72 regular-season games. He also has a league-leading 31.36 player efficiency rating (PER). 

He will surely be a big problem down low for the Portland Trail Blazers, who Denver will face in the first round of the playoffs.

While his name has been included in the MVP conversation all season long, Joel Embiid isn't someone most people thought would be a finalist as he only played 51 games- the fewest among all three finalists. Still, one cannot take away what Embiid has done for the Eastern Conference-leading 76ers.

Embiid normed 28 points, ten rebounds, and 1.4 blocks. He also upped his three-point shooting to 37%.

Two centers and a two-time MVP. It's going to be a tight race.

Photo is from Sportsnet