NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) ladder race 2024-25 season: Top 5 candidates ft. Nikola Jokic (Week 4)   

The NBA 2024-25 season finishes an action-packed Week 4 with the Emirates NBA Cup underway. Our weekly MVP rankings see familiar names in the list with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander entering the fray replacing an injured Kevin Durant who cut our rankings last week.

The bigs continue to dominate as Nikola Jokic and Anthony Davis maintain their spots in the top three while Donovan Mitchell and Jayson Tatum cement their places as well. As Week 4 comes to an end, here's a look at the top five NBA MVP contenders with an honorary mention as well.

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NBA MVP ladder race 2024-25 season: Top 5 candidates ft. Jayson Tatum (Week 4)

#5 Shai Gilgeous-Alexander | OKC Thunder: 11-3 | Week 4 W-L record: 3-1

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander - Oklahoma City Thunder

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander continues to be a force for the Thunder team that's suffered just their third loss of the season on Sunday night. The Dallas Mavericks may have scampered through with a 121-119 win, but the Canadian guard's 36-point outing capped off an electric week that began with a 45-point blitz against the LA Clippers.

Player Stats (Week 4)	PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	FT%	3P%
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander	34.5	4.0	6.5	2.3	1.8	54.4	43.5

SGA's prolific scoring ensured that OKC did not experience much offensive void left by Chet Holmgren who missed the last four games for the Thunder. The guard continues to be an MVP contender after missing out on a berth in the Top five following a sluggish start. At the time of writing, Gilgeous-Alexander averages 28.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 6.3 assists.

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#4 Donovan Mitchell | Cleveland Cavaliers: 15-0 | Week 4 W-L record: 4-0

Donovan Mitchell - Cleveland Cavaliers

Donovan Mitchell continues to sizzle as the Cavaliers maintain their unbeaten record heading into Week 5. They have played four weeks of quality ball where Mitchell's purple patch continues to show.

Player Stats (Week 4)	PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	FG%	3P%
Donovan Mitchell	32.0	9.3	5.0	2.3	0.7	47.1	45.2

Mitchell, like SGA has kept his production steady. He averages 24.6 points, 4.4 rebounds and 4.1 assists as the Cavaliers look to be the best team for the remainder of the month. His playmaking and clutch scoring continue to be lethal and crucial for the Cavs as they look to open their upcoming week strong against the Boston Celtics.

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#3 Anthony Davis | LA Lakers 9-4 | Week 4 W-L record: 3-0

Anthony Davis - Los Angeles Lakers

Anthony Davis has been a warrior for the Lakers this season. He's locked in a top-five position in the MVP and DPOY standings. A dodgy ankle and a scratched eye did nothing to keep him off the floor as the big took the court for LA in all of their games in Week 4.

His three-point shot looks awfully close to his 2020 championship campaign, although he does continue to attempt roughly three to four attempts per game.

Player Stats (Week 4)	PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	FG%	3P%
Anthony Davis	30.7	13.3	2.0	1.0	2.0	51.6	54.5

Davis continues to remain one of the best two-way centers in the NBA this edition averaging 31.1 points to take second place in most points per game this season. He also tallies 11.2 rebounds and 2.6 assists to ensure the Purple and Gold are propping up wins. His best performance of the week was his 40-point explosion against DPOY candidate Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs.

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#2 Jayson Tatum | Boston Celtics: 11-3 | Week 4 W-L record: 3-1

An odd loss here and there robbed the Boston Celtics of a top spot, but it would be unwise to even assume that the defending champions have lost a foot so far this campaign. Note that they are still without Kristaps Porzingis, but Jayson Tatum has been relentless with his explosive game on both ends of the court.

Player Stats (Week 4)	PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	FG%	3P%
Jayson Tatum	26.7	8.7	9.0	0.3	0.7	44.4	44.4

Tatum has three 30+ points games in his last five appearances. The forward's 'payback' tour has lost no steam as the season concludes a humdinger NBA Week 4. The Celtics superstar is top-five in points and made 3s so far as he averages 29.7 points, 7.9 rebounds and 5.9 assists.

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#1 Nikola Jokic | Denver Nuggets: 7-5 | Week 4 W-L record: 0-2

Nikola Jokic - Denver Nuggets

Two consecutive losses in their only two games in Week 4 don't change Nikola Jokic's stellar run this season. The center missed both games for personal reasons after a scorching start to his 2024-25 NBA campaign.*

Aside from his healthy and not-so-surprising triple-double run. 'The Joker' has been brilliant despite the lineup changes within the injury-hit Nuggets, who have dealt a bad hand with Aaron Gordon and Jamal Murray's injuries. The Serbian averages 29.7 points, 13.7 rebounds and 11.7 assists in his 12 games so far.

*No weekly stats for Jokic as he misses both Nuggets games in Week 4

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Narrowly missing out on our Top 5 NBA MVP Week 4 list: Steph Curry

Steph Curry: - Golden State Warriors

The animated celebration against the Dallas Mavericks aside, Steph Curry appears to have hit another level of his prime as his electric run sees the Golden State Warriors take the top seed in the West with just two losses.

Battling heel bursitis, the 4x NBA champion showed no signs of discomfort as he led the Warriors pack with 22.7 points, 5.1 rebounds and 6.4 assists, the veteran sharpshooter has led the side admirably after they were labeled a midfield side in a stacked Western Conference.