Philadelphia 76ers star jumps into top five on NBA MVP ladder

Michael Kaskey-Blomain

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Philadelphia 76ers star jumps into top five on NBA MVP ladder image

Philadelphia 76ers star guard Tyrese Maxey is having the best season of his young career.

Maxey is averaging career-highs across the board – 27.4 points, 6.2 assists, 3.9 rebounds and 1.9 steals per performance – and he was recently named an All-Star starter for the first time. He’s also making some legitimate noise in the NBA MVP conversation.

In the latest iteration of the Kia NBA MVP ladder, which is updated weekly, Maxey jumped into the top five. He was ranked No. 8 last week.

From NBA.com:

"He’s perhaps the most underrated two-way player in the league. His quickness with his hands and feet makes this possible. Maxey has another gear when driving to the rim and can disrupt passing lanes defensively.

"Which means this: Maxey has been a top-five NBA scorer practically all season and is second in total steals (86). He had eight steals on Monday against the Pacers and has 19 in the last four games. Before Joel Embiid began mending (and shedding minutes restrictions while adding shot attempts), Maxey carried Philly offensively. This season, he has four games of 40 or more points, with a season high of 54." 

The four players ahead of Maxey on the ladder are reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic and Victor Wembanyama. Pretty good company. 

Meanwhile, the players directly behind Maxey on the ladder are Jaylen Brown, Cade Cunningham, Anthony Edwards, Alperen Sungun and Jamal Murray.

It will be difficult for Maxey to leapfrog any of the guys ahead of him on the ladder, as they’re all authoring unbelievable individual campaigns of their own. But, if the star guard continues to produce the way he has so far this season, and the Sixers continue to be in the thick of the playoff picture in the Eastern Conference, he will remain in the conversation.

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Staff Writer