NBA Preview: Top 10 MVP Candidates Heading into the 2011-12 Season

With the 2011-12 NBA season possibly a long time away from starting, we felt that it was in our best interests to point out the 10 players in the league with the best possible chance of taking home an MVP next season.

It's becoming a lot more difficult to judge who's going to obtain one of these awards as well with players as young as 21 years old actually contending and even going on to win as in the case of 22-year-old Derrick Rose who took it this past season. In only his third season, Rose averaged 25 points and eight assists per game while also leading his Chicago Bulls to a No. 1 seed and the NBA's best record at 62-20.

It was the first time in three seasons that a different player had won with LeBron James taking two MVP's prior to Rose.

The competition is heating up as any of the 10 players listed could contend for the MVP next season. They all possess some sort of specific skills that allow them to be regarded as the right material to be named the league's most valuable player. The main reason why a player would win MVP is mainly because of their leadership skills and just how well they can lead one of the NBA's most successful teams. In last seasons case, Rose was somehow able to turn an average Bulls club into the league's top threat.

In no particular order—I can't stress that enough—here are the 10 players with the best chance at taking home the MVP next season and a few honorable mentions to go along with it so not everyone feels left out.

Kevin Durant

Finishing fifth in MVP voting a year after finishing second, this upcoming season could be the MVP season for the Oklahoma City Thunder's Kevin Durant.

Had he won it the previous season, he would have set the record for youngest MVP at only 21 years old.

Durant is coming off of another impressive season winning his second consecutive scoring title at 28 points per game while converting on a career high two three-pointers per game on 35 percent shooting from beyond the arc. The numbers pale in comparison to the year before when Durant averaged 30 points and eight rebounds per game. With Russell Westbrook taking an excess amount of shots, Durant was forced to share the offensive workload.

With help from other young athletes in Westbrook, James Harden, and Serge Ibaka, Durant was able to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder franchise to its first Conference Finals appearance since 1996 where the main duo then was Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp. The team would defeat the Denver Nuggets in five games in the first round and an inspired Memphis Grizzlies club in seven games in the semifinals before falling at the hands of the eventual NBA champion Dallas Mavericks in five games.

The Thunder held a fourth quarter lead in all but one of their losses.

In only four years time, Durant has already emerged as the league's top pure scorer. He has yet to average below 20 points per game and is finding even more ways to score as the years progress. His jump shot is one of the most lethal and consistent shots in the game today as he possesses a quick release, a shot that seemingly can't be blocked, and range for miles.

He also possesses the speed and length to drive at times, but he's a jump shooter before anything else when it comes to scoring. It's surprising to see a player that failed to bench 185 pounds once at the NBA draft combine have range that extends as far out as 30 feet.

Durant has just as good a chance as any of the players on this list at winning the MVP. He'll need to continue leading the Thunder to productive seasons where they're championship contenders and improve on his defense as well which is still severely lacking in a number of areas.

Derrick Rose

The reigning MVP and the youngest to ever be awarded the prestigious honor, Derrick Rose saw his stock climb even higher before suffering a bigger crash than Wall Street at the hands of LeBron James and the Miami Heat.

After devastating the Indiana Pacers and the Atlanta Hawks in the first two rounds of the post season where he scored over 30 points on five different occasions including a 44-point outing against the Hawks, Rose came to a standstill when pitted against the Heat. He scored over 20 points in each of the five games, but shot below 45 percent in every single game including 31 percent or worse in three of the games.

With no help from his supporting cast, Rose basically attempted to put the team on his shoulders and carry them to a victory. It was too much for the 22-year-old to handle as the Heat also had LeBron James, arguably the league's top perimeter defender, guarding him at all times in the fourth quarter. Rose shot 1-of-15 in the fourth quarter with James guarding him and it ended up in four down to the wire games where the Heat took advantage and won the series in five games.

Rose has some growing up to do, but we can't deny that the kid is extremely talented and that he's going to eventually lead this Chicago Bulls team to a title game if they can actually land him some talent that doesn't disappear in the Conference Finals.

He was absolutely incredible last season as he not only had highs in all statistical categories across the board, he led the Bulls to the number one seed and the best record in the league at 62-20 for the first time since 1998 when some guy named Michael Jordan was doing damage. In only his third season, Rose averaged 25 points, eight assists, and four rebounds per game and made huge strides in becoming one of the league's top players.

At 22 years old and only playing in the NBA for three seasons, there isn't much negativity you can pin on Rose. He could work on his defense and his reluctance to dish the ball out at times, but these are all aspects that will be worked on in time as we expect Rose to defend his title to the fullest and make a strong attempt for a second consecutive MVP award.

Dwyane Wade

The other half of the dynamic duo in South Beach, Dwyane Wade is probably the best player in the NBA today to not have an MVP award to their name. Even following the season where he averaged 30 points, eight assists, and five rebounds per game, Wade would only finish third in MVP voting behind Kobe Bryant and LeBron James.

Aside from having a regular season MVP award, he does have the Finals MVP award from 2006 and that's what probably helps him sleep at night.

Wade is coming off of another solid season where he not only averaged 26 points, six rebounds, and five assists per game, but did so with a completely new roster and the likes of LeBron James and Chris Bosh taking some of the workload off of his tired shoulders. Prior to those two joining the team, Wade was the point of emphasis on the Heat as he won 43 and 47 games over the past two seasons with Jermaine O'Neal, Michael Beasley, and Udonis Haslem as his top scoring options.

Since recovering from injuries that could have possibly ended his career, Wade has been at a frantic pace in being recognized as one of the league's top players. His jump shot has seen better days and he's never had anything near a consistent shot from beyond the arc, but it's his ability to slash and drive at will that makes him one of the league's most feared offensive threats. The fact that he can get to the rim against any type of defense is reason enough to load up on him and attribute all your focus on him.

And sometimes that doesn't even work.

Wade's defense is another force to be reckoned with as well as he's one of the league's best when it comes to intercepting passes before they get to their primary destination. His anticipation can help the team as he takes chances in stealing passes leading to fast break's, but it can also hurt the team as it's more of a gamble than anything as it leads to wide-open shots for the opposition more than half the time.

It'll be difficult for Wade to obtain an MVP with another MVP candidate already on his team, he finished seventh last year, but with the high chance that Dwyane becomes the clear leader of this team, the NBA just might feel obligated to hand over the award to the deserving Wade.

Dirk Nowitzki

Fresh off of his first championship and ridding himself of a decade's worth of playoff nightmares, Dallas Mavericks power forward Dirk Nowitzki is not only set to defend his teams NBA title, but to add another MVP to his lengthy list of accolades.

The German born superstar was playing at a level we've never seen him play at before as he was actually transferring the regular season success to the post season rather than leaving it at the playoffs doorstep as he and the rest of his Mavericks had done for years before. Nowitzki played like a man possessed as he hit clutch shot after clutch shot, overcame daunting comebacks from opposing teams, and overcame the odds to take home his first title and Finals MVP.

Nowitzki led the charge the entire way averaging 28 points on 49% shooting, 46% from beyond the arc, to go along with eight rebounds. He led the team past a tough Portland Trail Blazers squad in six games, swept the two-time defending champion Los Angeles Lakers that was capped off by having their bench outscore the entire Lakers team, and then earning their trip to the Finals with a five game series win over the Oklahoma City Thunder where the Mavs staged fourth quarter in all of their wins.

Dirk's run didn't stop there as he helped the Mavs avoid a 2-0 hole in the Finals with a huge comeback in game two and then winning games four through six to exact revenge and gain the redemption that he had been waiting for since 2006 when a Dwyane Wade led team turned a possible 3-0 Dallas series lead into an eventual 4-2 Heat win.

Last season truly showed how resilient and talented of a player Dirk can be. He had gone through so many failures, so much adversity, and was facing the possibility of being too old to start making legitimate post season runs in the future, yet he managed to overcome all the obstacles standing in his way to finally obtain the title that had eluded him for so long.

Dirk will be leading the Mavericks once again next season as MVP talk will surround the 7' sharpshooter for the duration of the season.

Kobe Bryant

The always popular MVP candidate, Kobe Bryant may be on the down side of his career but if there's one thing I've ever learned in my basketball watching career, it's to never bet against Kobe Bryant.

After enduring only the third sweep of his career, the last time it happened came in 1999, Bryant could be just as hungry and motivated as ever to take home a sixth NBA championship, a third Finals MVP, and a second MVP award. He and the Los Angeles Lakers were embarrassed at the hands of the eventual champion Dallas Mavericks as they lost the first two games at home before losing game three and game four by 36 points in the clincher.

Bryant's production was exceptionally low in this years post season as he averaged the lowest amount of points per game since 2000 with only 23 per on 45 percent shooting to go along with an even more subpar three rebounds and three assists per contest. Kobe was able to lead the Lakers past the New Orleans Hornets in six games, but it was surprisingly close even though the Hornets were playing without one of their best players in David West.

The Lakers looked more vulnerable as they've ever been since they acquired Pau Gasol before the start of the 2007-08 campaign. Prior to their semi-finals loss to Dallas, the Lakers had made it to three consecutive Finals.

Bryant's numbers in the regular season were unusually low as well as he only played in 33 minutes per game, the lowest it has been since 1997-98. After playing 35 minutes per game for nearly 15 seasons, Bryant could use some of the rest as he has also been the offensive leader of nearly all of those teams aside from his first years with the team when he was playing with Shaquille O'Neal and he was still putting up at least 25 points per game.

His ailments are beginning to pile up, he might be getting a step slower when it comes to penetrating, and he'll be an old 33 years old at the start of next season, but Bryant is still the NBA's best leader and still its best performer in clutch situations. He's the player that all the other 29 teams fear in the final minutes of games and he's going to be such until the wheels eventually fall off if they ever do.

Bryant has finished in the top five in MVP voting for nine of the past 10 seasons.

Blake Griffin

If Derrick Rose and Kevin Durant can be considered legitimate MVP candidates already, then there's no reason why Blake Griffin shouldn't be either.

Of course his team will have to do better than 32-50 and they're probably going to need at least a 15 game improvement just to squeak into the post season, but if there's going to be someone to put the Los Angeles Clippers over the top, it's going to be their high-flying power forward.

After dealing with a knee injury that kept him out for his entire rookie season, it could have easily been believed that Griffin would be hesitant when attacking. Once the season started and his first points of the season came by way of alley-oop, we then came back to our senses and realized that the 21 year old is set to be a superstar in the making. Throughout the season, he was an athletic eyesore and dominated defenses with his acrobatic theatrics.

Even though his jump shot was basically non-existent, Griffin still managed to average 23 points per game to go along with 12 boards and four assists per. He was a double-double machine as he utilized his freakish athleticism to his advantage on just about every possession on both sides of the court. His offensive game is limited to ten feet or less from the rim, but when you can dunk from about five feet out it really doesn't matter as long as you get somewhat of a running start.

To be considered a worthy MVP candidate however, Griffin is still going to have work out a few kinks. He's going to need to work on his jump shot because opposing defenses will eventually find out how to play him if he's restricted to the paint and not broadening his horizons when it comes to playing offense. His athleticism is his biggest advantage and a jump shot will not only inflate his stats some more, but help his team out even more.

He could also greatly use some help on defense. For a player of his athletic nature, averaging half a block per game won't cut it.

It's going to be a stretch for Griffin to win MVP, but it is highly plausible if he can first get his Clippers to finish the season with a winning record.

Dwight Howard

Finishing in the top five in MVP voting over the past four seasons and most recently second, Dwight Howard is a clear front-runner for the award after polishing his offensive game and leading an Orlando Magic team that went through a number of deals as a means to enter a new era of basketball.

With the team making a number of moves to acquire Hedo Turkoglu and Gilbert Arenas while also dropping Vince Carter and Rashard Lewis in the process, Howard has remained consistent and has proved that he can carry the workload under any amount of circumstances. Despite his team finishing with only 48 wins, taking a number four seed, and losing its stranglehold on the Southeast Division, Howard was clearly the only reason as to why the Magic were still in the playoff race and still a legitimate title contender.

Howard had received help from Hakeem Olajuwon over the off season as a means to improve his game around the basket. For years, Howard was restricted to nothing more than power moves where he could only score from either dunks, put-back dunks, or alley-oops. It's understandable that he utilizes his athleticism to its fullest, but at some time he won't always be able to rely on that and he's going to need to find other ways to score if he wants to thrive in the future.

He has actually taken the advice of Olajuwon as well as it does appear that his running hook is falling at a more consistent rate and he's even developing a 15 foot bank shot that does fall at an impressive rate. Howard's offensive game has greatly improved and it showed in his stats as he averaged a career high 23 points per game on 59 percent shooting.

Dwight also took home a third consecutive Defensive Player of the Year award and would have won his fourth consecutive rebounding crown had Kevin Love not gone bonkers when it came to grabbing rebounds.

If Howard can propel his Orlando Magic to 50-plus wins, keep up the stats, and continue to improve his offensive game then this could be the year that he takes home his first MVP.

Chris Paul

After two injury laden seasons that hampered his progress as arguably the league's top point guard, Chris Paul might have just found his identity again after one of the best post seasons of his career.

Facing the two-time defending champion Los Angeles Lakers without David West, the New Orleans Hornets were believed to be a first round stepping stone that wouldn't provide any resistance with the second best player on the floor being Carl Landry. Paul was also coming off of a horrid regular season where he averaged a career low 16 points per game to go along with a little under ten assists and four boards per.

Once the post season came around however, we witnessed the CP3 that actually led the Hornets to a division title over the likes of the Dallas Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs. He scored 33 points in their game one victory and would score at least 20 points in every game besides game six where he only dropped ten. He also recorded a triple-double in the teams game four win as he led the way with 27 points, 15 assists, and 13 rebounds.

CP3 averaged 22 points, 12 assists, and seven rebounds per game in the Hornets first round series. The team lost in six games, but Paul proved his point and established that he was still the point guard to beat in the NBA.

Aside from being an incredible threat as far as scoring and making his teammates better, he remains as the top defensive point guard in the game today. He just led the league in steals for the third time in the past four seasons and is still a lock down defender when it comes to defending any other point guard thanks to his agility and quick hands.

It was a good sign from Paul especially after suffering for two seasons from injuries. He only played in 45 games in the 2009-10 season and managed to play in 80 this past year, but was still clearly a step slow as some of his numbers hit their lowest since his first years in the league. He was taking three less shots per game than he usually attempts and was converting at a low rate as well at 46 percent from the field.

At 26 years old, however, Paul can only improve. He's proven that he has the capability to score at will and turn his teammates into All-Stars, it only shows that the Hornets need to start surrounding him with talent before he decides to get up and leave in next years free agency period.

Deron Williams

It's going to take a lot of improvement from the New Jersey Nets franchise, a center that rebounds would help, but if anyone can turn this team around it's going to be former Utah Jazz point guard Deron Williams.

After spending the first five and a half seasons of his career with the Jazz, Williams grew disgruntled with the organization and the team and demanded a trade. He was sent to lower-tier club in New Jersey and saw immediate improvement from the team as they actually began to play as a cohesive unit with Williams leading the way. He would record 11 assists or better in his first five games with the club, including two 18-assist outings.

They would even reel out five consecutive wins for the first time in two seasons, three of them which Williams played in.

Prior to leaving for New Jersey, Williams was in the middle of a career year averaging 21 points and 10 assists per game while appearing to lead the Jazz to another post season appearance. He wound up having verbal spats with coach Jerry Sloan that would eventually lead the Hall of Fame coach to retirement and the All-Star point guard to a different city.

The Jazz had some of their best years with Williams running the point as they would make their first Conference Finals since 1998 while winning 50 or more games in three of the past four years.

Williams struggled with his shot in his short time with the Nets as he only managed to score 15 points per game on a dismal 35 percent from the field overall, while shooting an even more abysmal 27 percent from deep. His assists total were astonishing as averaged 13 per, looking very comfortable while working with his new teammates.

Williams has the potential to become a legitimate MVP candidate next season if he can prove that this Nets franchise does have promise and does have the potential to be a future contender. It's a tough task and Williams is sure to be up to it.

In the year he got drafted, the Jazz had a 15-win turnaround with Williams running the point for the first time.

LeBron James

With Dwyane Wade on his team, it's going to be tough for Wade or LeBron James to take home an MVP award. It makes it even tougher to decide who exactly is more of the deserving award as it isn't truly clear who is the leader of this team.

According to voters last season, it was James who finished third while Wade finished seventh. The votes were most likely given to James because of his overall impact on the team as he led the roster in scoring while being the main factor for the teams 11 game improvement from the season before. James influence was huge on the team as he was able to take some of the pressure off Wade and take over some of the scoring duties as the younger and more durable player.

James had some trouble finding his niche with the team at first as they started off the season 9-8, but he would eventually find his way as he would help lead the team to their first second seed since 2006.

LeBron's performance only got more impressive as we saw a side of James that we have never seen before. He wasn't just helping lead the team to impressive victories over the likes of the Boston Celtics and the Chicago Bulls, he was the sole reason as to why the Heat were winning those games. In fourth quarter situations, the ball was deferred to the Heat when they had the ball and they allowed LeBron James, not Dwyane Wade, to take the final shot.

It actually worked too. A few times actually. James came up huge for every game of their Semi-finals and Conference Finals series as he hit big shot after big shot.

James remains as one of the most athletically gifted and talented in the game today and he's also one of the best in the league at utilizing his attributes. The strength, power, and speed he uses when he drives are some of the most unstoppable moves that a player possesses as it is basically the equivalent to taking on a Dwight Howard dunk.

Now that he's even getting help for his post game from Hakeem Olajuwon, James clearly shows that he's ready to take another step to becoming a better all-around threat. If he can perfect a post game and lead the Heat to 60 or more wins, a third MVP will definitely be in the future of LeBron.

Honorable Mentions

Carmelo Anthony: It was tough to omit either of the New York Knicks big two as there were so many worthy adversaries that there was just no room to fit a player of Carmelo Anthony's caliber in.

There's still no reason to say that Anthony won't contend for his first MVP award. He's one of the NBA's most gifted offensive players and he and teammate Amare Stoudemire could very well easily make the Knicks a 50-win club that could do some damage in the Eastern Conference.

Amar'e Stoudemire: The second member of the Knicks dynamic duo, Amar'e Stoudemire could very well contend for his first MVP award as well if he can help put the Knicks over the top as a legitimate title contender.

He's an offensive juggernaut through and through and now has a consistent mid-range jump shot, but it's going to take more than that to win an MVP award. He'll need to find a way to co-exist with another pure scorer in Anthony and possibly actually play some sort of defense. It's going to difficult for either player to win the award as well considering that he and Anthony will most likely take votes away from each other unless one emerges as a clear cut leader.

I can't see that happening.

LaMarcus Aldridge: When the Portland Trail Blazers were in dire straits after not only losing center Greg Oden for another season and rising superstar Brandon Roy, there would be only one man that would emerge and lead this team to the post season yet again.

That man was LaMarcus Aldridge and he saved the Blazers franchise with the way he performed last season. He took over leadership duties and ended up leading the team to a modest sixth seed after averaging 22 points and nine rebounds per game while averaging nearly 40 minutes of playing time a night.

If the team can get Oden and a Brandon Roy that can play a few quality minutes per game, Aldridge could be a legitimate candidate for the MVP.

Tyreke Evans: The constant injuries that he suffered over the course of the 2010-11 season might have actually been a blessing in disguise for Sacramento Kings point guard Tyreke Evans.

He has the talent to become an elite point guard in the league today and he can show just how resilient of a player he is with a quality third year after only playing in 57 games the season before. He still averaged 18 points, five assists, and four rebounds per game in his sophomore season, but it paled in comparison to the 20 points, six assists, and five rebounds he averaged the year before.

Evans winning the MVP will be a stretch considering that you usually have to be on a legitimate championship contender, but we've seen crazier things and Tyreke is the type of player that could turn a franchise around.

Kevin Love: As I stated before with Tyreke, it's tough to win an MVP award when you're on a team that has trouble clipping 20 wins for an entire year.

Kevin Love however has the possibility of putting the Minnesota Timberwolves over the top, especially with young up and coming stars in Michael Beasley, Ricky Rubio, and rookie Derrick Williams. Love is coming off of an unbelievable year where he led the team in scoring with 20 points per game, led the NBA in rebounding at 15 per, and finished second in offensive rebounding per at a little more than four.

He'll have to work on his defense and his team overall will have to greatly improve if he seriously wants to be regarded as an MVP candidate.