Surprise, surprise! International NBA stars dominate MVP early conversation once again

The way the NBA season is trending through the first two months – one-third of the season – a player born outside of the United States will win MVP for a seventh consecutive season.

Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo won in 2019 and 2020, Denver’s Nikola Jokic won in 2021 and 2022 and Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid earned the award in 2023.

Any one of those three could win again this year, plus Dallas’ Luka Doncic and Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander are having great seasons. (Gilgeous-Alexander is Canadian.)

Or can Boston’s Jayson Tatum or Minnesota's Anthony Edwards become the first U.S.-born player to win MVP since James Harden in 2018?

Let’s take a look at top MVP candidates at this point of the 2023-24 season:

USA TODAY SPORTS NBA MVP RANKINGS

6. (tie) Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards

2023-24 stats: 25.2 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 5.3 apg, 1.4 spg, 45.3% FG, 37.1% 3PT, 84.7% FT

Edwards is one of six players averaging at least 25 points, five rebounds, five assists and 1.4 steals, and he’s doing it for the team with the best record in the Western Conference and the No.1 defense.

6. (tie) Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum

2023-24 stats: 26.9 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 4.3 apg, 47.7% FG, 34.7% 3PT, 80.3% FT

Tatum is the best player on the team with the best record. The Celtics are No. 3 offensively and No. 5 defensively – one of two teams in the top five in both categories – and Tatum is a huge reason for that.

5. Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic

2023-24 stats: 26.4 ppg, 12.3 rpg, 9.2 apg, 1.2 spg, 54.1% FG, 81.4% FT

Jokic is a master at the top of his game. He leads the league in triple-doubles (10) and double-doubles (27) as the Nuggets eye another deep postseason run.

4. Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

2023-24 stats: 31.0 ppg, 6.4 apg, 5.7 rpg, 2.8 spg, 54.2% FG

While his 3-point shooting hovers at 30%, Gilgeous-Alexander is shooting a career-high from the field, and between his scoring and assists, he is accounting for nearly 45 of the Thunder’s points every game. In an impressive victory against Minnesota on Tuesday, he had 34 points, nine assists, six rebounds, two steals and one block.

3. Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo

2023-24 stats: 30.8 ppg, 11.0 rpg, 5.5 apg, 1.4 spg, 1.2 bpg, 60.1% FG

Along with Embiid, Antetokounmpo is one of two players to have two games with at least 50 points this season, including a league-wide season-high of 64 (also his career-high) against Indiana in a game that will forever be known as the Great Basketball Caper.

2. Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic

2023-24 stats: 33.5 ppg, 9.4 apg, 8.5 rpg, 1.4 spg, 48.9% FG, 38.7% 3PT

Doncic dropped 50 on Phoenix in a Christmas victory as he continues to put together his best season in the NBA. He’s averaging career-highs in points and assists, 3-point percentage and free throw percentage and just half-a-percent shy from his career-best percentage from the field.

1. Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid

2023-24 stats: 35.0 ppg, 11.7 rpg, 6.0 apg, 2.0 bpg, 1.2 spg, 54% FG, 35% 3PT

In December, Joel Embiid averages 40.2 points, 12.6 rebounds, 4.9 assists, 2.1 blocks and 1.4 steals and shoots 60.6% from the field, 42.3% on 3-pointers and 92.1% from the free throw line. He has scored at least 50 in two games this month and hasn’t scored fewer than 31. Embiid is having a better all-around season compared to last season when he won MVP.

Worth mentioning: Phoenix’s Kevin Durant; New York’s Jalen Brunson; Indiana’s Tyrese Haliburton; Los Angeles Lakers’ Anthony Davis; Sacramento's De'Aaron Fox