The Golden Basketball: Why one NBA superstar rose above the rest in 2021
Which NBA player won 2021?
To answer that question, it's time for the return of my annual "Golden Basketball" award -- which, like soccer's Ballon d'Or, considers performance across the NBA regular season and playoffs as well as international competition, distinguishing it from the league's regular-season and Finals MVP awards.
The past year presented an unusually interesting Golden Basketball competition. There's no overlap between the 2020-21 MVP (Nikola Jokic), 2021 Finals MVP (Giannis Antetokounmpo) and the MVP leader two months into the 2021-22 season (Stephen Curry). A fourth player (Kevin Durant) was MVP in the Tokyo Olympics.
The 2021 Golden Basketball race is also unique for the absence of LeBron James, who won four times between the invention of this award in 2014 and it last being handed out in 2019. LeBron would have been an easy pick again in 2020, when the pandemic rendered it more straightforward with no high-level international basketball and only a week of the 2020-21 regular season taking place in 2020.
With injuries and a short playoff run ruling James out of the mix in 2021, Curry (2015) is the only former winner among my four finalists. Will a first-timer claim this year's award? Let's break down the race.
Honorable mentions
Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks
2021 résumé:
All-NBA first team
FIBA All-Star Five
The only player named to the top five in both the 2020-21 NBA regular season and the Tokyo Olympics, Doncic led Slovenia to the semifinals as the culmination of an incredible run. Alas, Luka hasn't quite reached that same level since the beginning of the 2021-22 regular season, leaving him just outside the finalists.
Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton, Milwaukee Bucks
2021 résumé:
NBA champions
Olympic gold medalists
Jumping on a private plane to Tokyo days after completing their title run with the Bucks, Holiday and Middleton joined just four predecessors -- Kyrie Irving, LeBron James, Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen (twice) -- in winning both an NBA championship and an Olympic world championship in the same calendar year. Naturally, Holiday and Middleton weren't the primary contributors to either victory, but that marathon run deserves a hat tip.
Chris Paul, Phoenix Suns
2021 résumé:
Western Conference champion
All-NBA second team
Although the Suns couldn't translate a 2-0 lead in the NBA Finals into the first championship in franchise history, their 87 wins across the two regular seasons and playoffs in 2021 were easily the most in the league. That's a remarkable pivot for a team that hadn't reached the playoffs in 10 seasons before adding Paul, whose leadership and still-elite play helped lift a promising young group into immediate contention.
The finalists
Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks
2021 résumé:
NBA champion
Bill Russell Finals MVP
All-NBA first team
After winning back-to-back MVPs, Giannis finished a distant fourth in 2020-21, reflecting a slight downturn in play but also perhaps skepticism about his inability to maintain his dominance in the postseason. A sparkling 2021 run capped by one of the great games in Finals history to secure Milwaukee's first title in 50 years erased those doubts.
Though Giannis wasn't the best player on the court in the Bucks' series with Brooklyn, he averaged 31.9 PPG and 12.9 RPG and had 40 points on 15-of-24 shooting as Milwaukee outlasted the short-handed Nets in overtime in Game 7. A knee injury in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals threatened to end Antetokounmpo's playoff run prematurely, but after the Bucks advanced without him, he was back on the court for Game 1 of the NBA Finals against Phoenix.
Remarkably, Giannis put together back-to-back 40-plus efforts in Games 2 and 3, the latter helping Milwaukee avoid a 3-0 deficit. He saved his best for Game 6 with the title at stake, scoring 50 points on 16-of-25 shooting and making 17 of his 19 free throw attempts as the Bucks celebrated the championship.
Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
2021 résumé:
All-NBA first team
NBA scoring champion
NBA's all-time leader in 3-point field goals
Readers of a certain age might remember a time way back in early 2021 when Curry's ability to lead a team to championship contention was questioned. Ha! Curry lifted a middling Warriors team without the injured Klay Thompson to a 15-5 finishing kick in 2020-21 before getting upset in the play-in tournament, finishing third in MVP voting.
With veteran reinforcements added over the summer, Golden State has picked up there, starting 2021-22 a league-best 27-7 while awaiting the return of Thompson from injury. Curry is the primary reason the Warriors are back in the title mix. He also delivered the defining memory of this season to date, passing Ray Allen at Madison Square Garden to claim the title of the NBA's all-time 3-point king. Even before that, Curry was the heavy favorite in ESPN's first MVP straw poll of the season.
Kevin Durant, Brooklyn Nets
2021 résumé:
Olympic gold medalist
Olympic men's basketball MVP
Separating Curry and Durant has seemingly lifted each to new heights, the latter despite the Achilles rupture that sidelined him the entire 2019-20 campaign. Durant was still dogged by injuries in the 2020-21 regular season, playing just 31 of Brooklyn's 67 games after New Year's, but he was back in MVP form for the playoffs.
With James Harden and Kyrie Irving both missing time because of injuries, Durant nearly single-handedly dragged the Nets to the conference finals, averaging 43 PPG, 12.3 RPG and 6.3 APG over the final three games of their seven-game loss to the Bucks. If Durant's toe had been an inch farther back, his score-tying jumper late in Game 7 might've instead eliminated the eventual champs.
Durant was just as good for the USA men's national team in Tokyo, averaging a team-high 20.7 PPG and going for a game-high 29 against France in the final to win his third gold medal. Largely healthy before a recent stint in the NBA's health and safety protocols, Durant is a leading contender to win MVP eight years after he previously claimed the trophy.
Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets
2021 résumé:
NBA MVP
All-NBA first team
The 2020-21 MVP race was a boat race. With leading contenders Joel Embiid and LeBron James both missing extended periods because of injury, Jokic (who played all 72 games) claimed the highest vote share (96% of possible points) since Curry won unanimously in 2015-16.
Remarkably, Jokic is playing at a higher level early in 2021-22, boosting his 2-point percentage (a career-high 66%) and his usage rate (32%, also a career high) as the Nuggets stay afloat in the West without their other two leading scorers from 2020-21, Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. This time around, it's Jokic who's losing credit for durability in the early going, having missed five games (one of them due to suspension).
Given Murray's absence and other injuries on the perimeter, it's hard to criticize Jokic for Denver getting swept by Phoenix in the conference semifinals. He certainly looked like an MVP in the opening round as the Nuggets held off an upset bid from the dangerous Portland Trail Blazers.
Jokic did understandably pass on an opportunity to pad his Golden Basketball credentials when he decided against playing for the Serbia national team this summer after an extended run of basketball dating to Denver's conference finals run in the 2020 bubble.
The winner: Antetokounmpo
Ultimately, I think this year's Golden Basketball race comes down to the two stars who squared off in the second round: Antetokounmpo and Durant. Though Durant got the better of that individual matchup, Giannis' team advanced, allowing him to reach new heights later in the postseason. Durant is an eminently reasonable pick on the strength of his run in Tokyo, but I think Antetokounmpo dominating Game 6 of the NBA Finals was the moment of 2021 and Giannis the player of the year.
The Golden Basketball: Why one NBA superstar rose above the rest in 2021
Which NBA player won 2021?
To answer that question, it's time for the return of my annual "Golden Basketball" award -- which, like soccer's Ballon d'Or, considers performance across the NBA regular season and playoffs as well as international competition, distinguishing it from the league's regular-season and Finals MVP awards.
The past year presented an unusually interesting Golden Basketball competition. There's no overlap between the 2020-21 MVP (Nikola Jokic), 2021 Finals MVP (Giannis Antetokounmpo) and the MVP leader two months into the 2021-22 season (Stephen Curry). A fourth player (Kevin Durant) was MVP in the Tokyo Olympics.
The 2021 Golden Basketball race is also unique for the absence of LeBron James, who won four times between the invention of this award in 2014 and it last being handed out in 2019. LeBron would have been an easy pick again in 2020, when the pandemic rendered it more straightforward with no high-level international basketball and only a week of the 2020-21 regular season taking place in 2020.
With injuries and a short playoff run ruling James out of the mix in 2021, Curry (2015) is the only former winner among my four finalists. Will a first-timer claim this year's award? Let's break down the race.
Honorable mentions
Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks
2021 résumé:
All-NBA first team
FIBA All-Star Five
The only player named to the top five in both the 2020-21 NBA regular season and the Tokyo Olympics, Doncic led Slovenia to the semifinals as the culmination of an incredible run. Alas, Luka hasn't quite reached that same level since the beginning of the 2021-22 regular season, leaving him just outside the finalists.
Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton, Milwaukee Bucks
2021 résumé:
NBA champions
Olympic gold medalists
Jumping on a private plane to Tokyo days after completing their title run with the Bucks, Holiday and Middleton joined just four predecessors -- Kyrie Irving, LeBron James, Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen (twice) -- in winning both an NBA championship and an Olympic world championship in the same calendar year. Naturally, Holiday and Middleton weren't the primary contributors to either victory, but that marathon run deserves a hat tip.
Chris Paul, Phoenix Suns
2021 résumé:
Western Conference champion
All-NBA second team
Although the Suns couldn't translate a 2-0 lead in the NBA Finals into the first championship in franchise history, their 87 wins across the two regular seasons and playoffs in 2021 were easily the most in the league. That's a remarkable pivot for a team that hadn't reached the playoffs in 10 seasons before adding Paul, whose leadership and still-elite play helped lift a promising young group into immediate contention.
The finalists
Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks
2021 résumé:
NBA champion
Bill Russell Finals MVP
All-NBA first team
After winning back-to-back MVPs, Giannis finished a distant fourth in 2020-21, reflecting a slight downturn in play but also perhaps skepticism about his inability to maintain his dominance in the postseason. A sparkling 2021 run capped by one of the great games in Finals history to secure Milwaukee's first title in 50 years erased those doubts.
Though Giannis wasn't the best player on the court in the Bucks' series with Brooklyn, he averaged 31.9 PPG and 12.9 RPG and had 40 points on 15-of-24 shooting as Milwaukee outlasted the short-handed Nets in overtime in Game 7. A knee injury in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals threatened to end Antetokounmpo's playoff run prematurely, but after the Bucks advanced without him, he was back on the court for Game 1 of the NBA Finals against Phoenix.
Remarkably, Giannis put together back-to-back 40-plus efforts in Games 2 and 3, the latter helping Milwaukee avoid a 3-0 deficit. He saved his best for Game 6 with the title at stake, scoring 50 points on 16-of-25 shooting and making 17 of his 19 free throw attempts as the Bucks celebrated the championship.
Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
2021 résumé:
All-NBA first team
NBA scoring champion
NBA's all-time leader in 3-point field goals
Readers of a certain age might remember a time way back in early 2021 when Curry's ability to lead a team to championship contention was questioned. Ha! Curry lifted a middling Warriors team without the injured Klay Thompson to a 15-5 finishing kick in 2020-21 before getting upset in the play-in tournament, finishing third in MVP voting.
With veteran reinforcements added over the summer, Golden State has picked up there, starting 2021-22 a league-best 27-7 while awaiting the return of Thompson from injury. Curry is the primary reason the Warriors are back in the title mix. He also delivered the defining memory of this season to date, passing Ray Allen at Madison Square Garden to claim the title of the NBA's all-time 3-point king. Even before that, Curry was the heavy favorite in ESPN's first MVP straw poll of the season.
Kevin Durant, Brooklyn Nets
2021 résumé:
Olympic gold medalist
Olympic men's basketball MVP
Separating Curry and Durant has seemingly lifted each to new heights, the latter despite the Achilles rupture that sidelined him the entire 2019-20 campaign. Durant was still dogged by injuries in the 2020-21 regular season, playing just 31 of Brooklyn's 67 games after New Year's, but he was back in MVP form for the playoffs.
With James Harden and Kyrie Irving both missing time because of injuries, Durant nearly single-handedly dragged the Nets to the conference finals, averaging 43 PPG, 12.3 RPG and 6.3 APG over the final three games of their seven-game loss to the Bucks. If Durant's toe had been an inch farther back, his score-tying jumper late in Game 7 might've instead eliminated the eventual champs.
Durant was just as good for the USA men's national team in Tokyo, averaging a team-high 20.7 PPG and going for a game-high 29 against France in the final to win his third gold medal. Largely healthy before a recent stint in the NBA's health and safety protocols, Durant is a leading contender to win MVP eight years after he previously claimed the trophy.
Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets
2021 résumé:
NBA MVP
All-NBA first team
The 2020-21 MVP race was a boat race. With leading contenders Joel Embiid and LeBron James both missing extended periods because of injury, Jokic (who played all 72 games) claimed the highest vote share (96% of possible points) since Curry won unanimously in 2015-16.
Remarkably, Jokic is playing at a higher level early in 2021-22, boosting his 2-point percentage (a career-high 66%) and his usage rate (32%, also a career high) as the Nuggets stay afloat in the West without their other two leading scorers from 2020-21, Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. This time around, it's Jokic who's losing credit for durability in the early going, having missed five games (one of them due to suspension).
Given Murray's absence and other injuries on the perimeter, it's hard to criticize Jokic for Denver getting swept by Phoenix in the conference semifinals. He certainly looked like an MVP in the opening round as the Nuggets held off an upset bid from the dangerous Portland Trail Blazers.
Jokic did understandably pass on an opportunity to pad his Golden Basketball credentials when he decided against playing for the Serbia national team this summer after an extended run of basketball dating to Denver's conference finals run in the 2020 bubble.
The winner: Antetokounmpo
Ultimately, I think this year's Golden Basketball race comes down to the two stars who squared off in the second round: Antetokounmpo and Durant. Though Durant got the better of that individual matchup, Giannis' team advanced, allowing him to reach new heights later in the postseason. Durant is an eminently reasonable pick on the strength of his run in Tokyo, but I think Antetokounmpo dominating Game 6 of the NBA Finals was the moment of 2021 and Giannis the player of the year.
