Who Will be OKC MVP This Year?
No one got a great look at OKC’s first round picks this year which is kind of a bummer. On Josh Giddey‘s first drive, people were excited since he didn’t hesitate to attack. Five minutes later his ankle gave up on him and was forced to sit out the rest of Summer League. Tre Mann looked promising as well, until personal matters got in the way. Jeremiah Robinson-Earl looked like a complete NBA player in his Summer League debut. Aaron Wiggins looked like a nice spark plug kind of a player. OKC is filled with young and promising prospects so it’s hard to decipher who will be the best on the team.
Who Will be OKC MVP This Year? (Not named Shai Gilgeous-Alexander)
Gilgeous-Alexander will naturally be the top dog on this team. Besides him, who will step up and prove to be a household name? For starters, Darius Bazley is looking like a young star in the making. He put up career-highs across the board last season, on bad efficiency, but he still had a good campaign. He’ll be given more opportunity to grow this year and if he can take advantage, he will be a name to monitor in the Most Improved Player Award conversation. He’ll more than likely be the most improved player on his team not named Shai or Lu. Look for him to explode this year and average bigger numbers.
Josh Giddey
Giddey wasn’t given a whole lot of time to work with due to injury. His ankle should be healed up by now, though so he should be ready for the pre-season. Giddey is a very interesting prospect given his length, size and ball-handling skills. The biggest problem for him is that he has to fight for touches due to the likes of Dort, Gilgeous-Alexander and Bazley. He could be in for Rookie of the Year if given the opportunity to lead an offense along side an All-NBA talent in Gilgeous-Alexander. There’s a lot to be excited about since he’s a prototypical guard who’s 6-foot-8, can spread the floor and be a playmaker and can play multiple positions. His only issues are that he needs to gain muscle and improve his athleticism so he can keep up with opposing guards in the league.
Jeremiah Robinson-Earl
What else is there to say? Earl was easily the best player on OKC’s Summer League squad. His complete game gives OKC fans a lot to think about in terms of who their favorite players going to be. He can be an offensive threat, spread the floor, create shots and even create plays. Not only is his offense complete, his defense will be put on display as well. His Draymond Green-esque defense is very annoying for other teams and his IQ is off the charts. Due to the severe lack of depth in the four and five spots in OKC, Earl could get some minutes right away. It’s a rebuilding season in OKC after all so seeing him and the other young players succeed is their number one priority.
So, Who Will be OKC MVP This Year?
Besides the obvious answer, Gilgeous-Alexander, it’s hard to tell who will be the MVP for them this year. Maybe it’ll be Earl, Bazley, maybe even someone else. This year, everyone on the roster is going to be given a look. All eyes are on OKC this year to see who will show out along side Gilgeous-Alexander and Dort.