LILLE (France) - The Men's Olympic Basketball Tournament Paris 2024 is about to start. You've seen the progress of the teams in our Power Rankings, but now it's time to make it about individuals too.
We are searching for a new name to add next to Kevin Durant on the all-time list. FIBA awarded the forward with the MVP honors in Japan in 2021, as Durant averaged 20.7 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game during the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
To figure out who has the best chance to succeed Durant* at the throne, we put together a list of questions to help us figure out what it takes to climb the MVP Ladder in France:
1) Does his team have a legitimate chance of reaching the podium? 2) What were his numbers coming into the Olympics? 3) Is he the one taking the shot if his team needs a clutch bucket? 4) What makes you think he'll be the MVP? 5) What makes you think he won't be the MVP?
(*Durant, of course, could retain his crown, but he did not play at all in the build-up towards the Olympics, meaning he doesn't have his spot on the MVP Ladder right now.)
#10 Anthony Edwards - USA
1) Does his team have a legitimate chance of reaching the podium? Of course.
2) What were his numbers coming into the Olympics? Double digits in all five games, averaged 13.0 points per game, with his best game coming against Serbia when he had 16 points in 16 minutes.
3) Is he the one taking the shot if his team needs a clutch bucket? Well, not really. Because LeBron James was the one taking over in two close games against South Sudan and Germany.
4) What makes you think he'll be the MVP? His energy is off the charts, he approaches each possession like it's the last one he'll ever play, and he's playing with his foot on the gas pedal no matter if they are down by 10 or up by 30. That inner drive could lead him to have the best stats on this team, and a major individual award when all is said and done.
5) What makes you think he won't be the MVP? His teammates. This is one of the strongest teams of all time, and there are at least three other players who think they deserve MVP consideration.
#9 Franz Wagner - Germany
1) Does his team have a legitimate chance of reaching the podium? They are the current FIBA Basketball World Cup winners, so this is a big "yes." So... YES!
2) What were his numbers coming into the Olympics? Four games, scoring at least 15 in each of those, plus a 27-point burst in just 20 minutes of work against Japan. Overall, he averaged 19.3 points, with 5.3 rebounds, done in 23.3 minutes of playing time per game.
3) Is he the one taking the shot if his team needs a clutch bucket? He could be the one, yes. But also, he could be cheering Dennis Schroder or Andreas Obst to take it. Because Germany are so good and they don't care who has to be a hero, as long as they are getting Ws as a team.
4) What makes you think he'll be the MVP? We've been following Franz around since his days with youth national teams, and every single summer he showed up as a better player than the year before. He was already the TCL Player of the Game in the Final of the World Cup, and he's better than he was last summer.
5) What makes you think he won't be the MVP? With Germany defeating opponents through team-first chemistry, it's hard to imagine somebody having insane, Luka-Doncic-like numbers in a tournament. Including Franz. And since numbers and stats are so important when it comes to awards, there could be plenty of players with better numbers than Franz in Germany's system.
#8 Josh Giddey - Australia
1) Does his team have a legitimate chance of reaching the podium? They have already been there in 2021. So yes, the Boomers are legit.
2) What were his numbers coming into the Olympics? Five games, all five in double digits, averaging 16.0 points, 5.8 rebounds, 4.8 assists per game, shooting 8-of-15 from beyond the three-point line.
3) Is he the one taking the shot if his team needs a clutch bucket? No. But he's probably the one getting the crucial pass to Patty Mills, or Dyson Daniels, or anybody else.
4) What makes you think he'll be the MVP? It wasn't just the numbers, but also the incredible amount of confidence he's showing out there on the floor as the primary ball-handler for coach Brian Goorjian. He is establishing himself as a true leader of this team, which is amazing for somebody who is still just 21. If Australia go on a long tour of France, he'll be the one behind the wheel.
5) What makes you think he won't be the MVP? This sounds like a solid spot to remind you that Patty Mills had 42 points and 9 assists in the Bronze Medal Game three years ago. So, for Giddey to be the MVP, he needs to carry Australia towards the medals, but that's when Mills goes crazy and plays his best basketball, so if he puts up those numbers or something similar, it will be impossible to ignore Patty in the MVP discussions.
#7 Victor Wembanyama - France
1) Does his team have a legitimate chance of reaching the podium? They played the Final of the last Olympics, and now they are the home favorites with the fans behind them to provide that crucial push.
2) What were his numbers coming into the Olympics? 18.4 points, 8.0 rebounds, 4.4 assists per game, hitting 13-of-32 three-pointers and 22-of-29 two-pointers. Yes, that's right. He missed just seven twos in five games.
3) Is he the one taking the shot if his team needs a clutch bucket? Probably. Especially with those shooting percentages from the last question.
4) What makes you think he'll be the MVP? Our eyes.
5) What makes you think he won't be the MVP? The only way he's not in the MVP discussion at the end of the Olympics would be if France get eliminated early. Or, if they make it far, but somebody else has crazier numbers and hits all the tough, most important shots the same way Kevin Durant did in 2021.
#6 Giannis Antetokounmpo - Greece
1) Does his team have a legitimate chance of reaching the podium? This is a tricky question because Greece have never been better than fifth in Olympic history. However, they have a really good FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament behind them, and they are in a tough Group A, which could be a good thing, actually. Because if Greece advance to the Quarter-Finals, it would feel like a walk in the park after all the bar fights in Group A. 2) What were his numbers coming into the Olympics? 21.3 points and 5.0 rebounds per game in four games, but the first three were highly competitive, at the FIBA OQT in Piraeus, Greece. That's also where he had that monster game of 32 points on 10-of-10 shooting in just 18 minutes against the Dominican Republic. 3) Is he the one taking the shot if his team needs a clutch bucket? Dunking it home probably. On a Nick Calathes alley-oop.
4) What makes you think he'll be the MVP? He's the MVP of everything. Any time he's on the court, he's looking to dominate, and he's already won the biggest individual awards in the NBA, with another huge accolade in being the top scorer of the FIBA EuroBasket 2022. If we see Greece near the podium, it's probably because Giannis is breaking some records with his numbers.
5) What makes you think he won't be the MVP? The trouble with that loaded Group A field is that just one slip-up could be lethal. Because if you don't win the group, you could be in the unseeded part of the Quarter-Finals draw, meaning you could end up facing the USA or Serbia or France or Germany in the elite eight phase. If Greece get stuck anywhere, Giannis would not be the MVP.
#5 Dennis Schroder - Germany
1) Does his team have a legitimate chance of reaching the podium? World Champions reaching the Olympic podium would not be a surprise. Not at all.
2) What were his numbers coming into the Olympics? 15.6 points, 6.0 assists per game, including a 13-point, 10-assist double-double with no turnovers against the USA in just 17 minutes of action.
3) Is he the one taking the shot if his team needs a clutch bucket? Either that, or driving and kicking the ball out to shooters once the defense collapses. He would be the one initiating the play, for sure.
4) What makes you think he'll be the MVP? He's coming in as the reigning FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 TISSOT MVP, and you should see the spark in his eyes when he talks about how much it means to him to play for Germany or be the flag-bearer at the Opening Ceremony. Keep in mind that he also had a run with 22.1 points and 7.1 assists per game at the FIBA EuroBasket 2022, and another of 23.7 points and 5.4 assists at the same competition in 2017. Those are sublime numbers in this environment.
5) What makes you think he won't be the MVP? If these four guys ahead of him in the MVP Ladder go on their own crazy runs and prevent Germany from winning the Olympic gold medal.
#4 Stephen Curry - USA
1) Does his team have a legitimate chance of reaching the podium? Next question, please.
2) What were his numbers coming into the Olympics? One slow game against Australia, plus four double-digit performances, including a monster game against Serbia with 24 points and six threes in 21 minutes on the floor.
3) Is he the one taking the shot if his team needs a clutch bucket? This can't be a real question when it's about Steph, right?
4) What makes you think he'll be the MVP? When you see him playing his first Olympics, don't watch him when he's shooting. Just look at the defenders and the opposing coach, as they pray the ball doesn't go through the hoop, because they know what just a single Steph Curry three-pointer can do to your game plans. Just ask South Sudan.
5) What makes you think he won't be the MVP? There's another guy from his team ranked higher on this list. That's all.
#3 Shai Gilgeous-Alexander - Canada
1) Does his team have a legitimate chance of reaching the podium? Yes! Why the exclamation mark? Because Canada haven't been at the Olympics since 2000, and haven't won a medal since 1936, but their improvement in recent times made them a third-placed team at the last World Cup. So even though they haven't played in the Olympics for so long, they are a true contender to win the whole thing in Lille and Paris.
2) What were his numbers coming into the Olympics? 15.7 points, 4.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists, less than one turnover per game. The fact that his best game was against France, when he had 23 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists is just another reminder that he loves playing the toughest opponents.
3) Is he the one taking the shot if his team needs a clutch bucket? Of course.
4) What makes you think he'll be the MVP? He had absolutely no issues in copy-pasting his NBA game to FIBA basketball. We are talking about a guy who had an average efficiency rating of 30.4 at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023, by far the best mark of the event, more than four points clear of Luka Doncic at the top of the standings. Easy to see him put up gigantic numbers this summer, too.
5) What makes you think he won't be the MVP? The explanation is pretty much a combination of Giannis and Dennis. He won't be the MVP if Canada get stuck outside of the podium, or if the two guys ahead of him here go on incredible runs while taking their countries all the way.
#2 Nikola Jokic - Serbia
1) Does his team have a legitimate chance of reaching the podium? Over the past ten years, they've played two FIBA Basketball World Cup Finals, one FIBA EuroBasket Final, plus the Olympic Final in Rio de Janeiro in 2016. Yep. Legit sounds about right.
2) What were his numbers coming into the Olympics? 16.5 points, 11.3 rebounds, 3.0 assists per game, while playing a lot of minutes, actually, even in back-to-back games against the USA and Australia, when he spent 28 minutes out there both times.
3) Is he the one taking the shot if his team needs a clutch bucket? Either a one-legged shot or a pass for a wide-open shooter. The best part about Jokic's game is his decision-making late in games, it feels like he's thinking the fastest when the others are exhausted.
4) What makes you think he'll be the MVP? He's the reigning NBA MVP. He won that award three times over the past four seasons. Basically, what makes us think he'll be the MVP is the fact that his name is Nikola Jokic.
5) What makes you think he won't be the MVP? Two things. First one, Bogdan Bogdanovic has this habit of becoming the best basketball player alive any time he puts on the jersey with SRBIJA emblazoned on the chest. Second one, there's this guy who's number one here, and he's got a thing or two to say this summer.
#1 LeBron James - USA
1) Does his team have a legitimate chance of reaching the podium? Yes.
2) What were his numbers coming into the Olympics? Just seven points in 19 minutes against Canada. Then 10 points against Australia. Then 11 against Serbia, before the London madness of 23 points, 6 rebounds, 6 rebounds and a game-winner against South Sudan, and 20 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and a number of clutch shots, stops and rebounds against the world champs Germany.
3) Is he the one taking the shot if his team needs a clutch bucket? Here:
4) What makes you think he'll be the MVP? The fact that he's here. For somebody with his resume, to go back to the national team at 39, it speaks volumes about his motivation. The two London games proved once again he's unstoppable and he's destined to create a lot of Paris 2024 memories for millions of fans all over the world. LeBron is on a mission.
5) What makes you think he won't be the MVP? It's either going to be a case of Kevin Durant, Anthony Edwards, Steph Curry or any other teammate having an incredible tournament, or a case of another nation claiming the Olympic throne. But with the way James has been playing this summer, both seem unlikely.
*The MVP Ladder rankings are entirely subjective and are in no way a true and accurate ranking system. All comments are purely those of the author.
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