Welcome back to Knicks Peripheral. Let’s jump right into it.

Boston’s Brad Stevens won the award last year after making two trades for Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis. Rose should see the same fate if the Knicks continue their winning pace.

Detroit’s Mistie Bass-Boyd and Memphis’ Zach Kleiman are my runner-ups. Detroit acquired quality veterans to become a legitimate playoff-level team overnight, while Memphis has overcome injuries with incredible depth and player development.

Who would’ve bet on the 29-14 Rockets to be the second seed in the West by late January? They rank third in the league in defensive rating (107.8) despite having an undersized backcourt and a defensively unproven starting center.

OKC’s Mark Daigneault, Cleveland’s Kenny Atkinson, and Memphis’ Taylor Jenkins are my runner-ups. Jenkins has managed his depth well, while the other two are leading teams on pace for 65+ wins.

I’m not too big on this award—it feels largely determined by metrics. NBA.com says Jokić is third in clutch points per game (4.4), third in rebounds (1.7), and fourth in assists (0.9) while shooting 54% from the field and 50% from three. The Nuggets are 11-7 in clutch games (when the score is within five points with five minutes or less in the fourth quarter or overtime).

I don’t have official runner-ups, but Tyrese Maxey (5.5) and Jalen Brunson (4.7) are the top two in clutch points per game. So there you go.

Hunter is averaging 18.8 points off the bench, leading the league. That is a career-high mark, despite a career-low 28.2 minutes per game. It’s not the flashiest pick, but he has been the most productive reserve this season.

Boston’s Payton Pritchard is at 14.3 points per game this season. And we’ve seen Detroit’s Malik Beasley (15.2 points) light up the Garden (twice!) off the bench as well.

It’s not just #1 pick hype, nor is it the 4.0 blocks per game. Watch any Spurs game: his presence alone makes people think twice (thrice, even) about challenging him. Never mind the fact that San Antonio is 17th in defensive rating. He is the most feared defensive player in the league. It’s like when teams preferred to play 4-on-4 rather than challenge Kawhi Leonard.

Cleveland’s Evan Mobley isn’t as feared, but there’s no one on the court he can’t guard. I’d like to give Atlanta’s Dyson Daniels love as well. 3.0 steals per game hasn’t been done since 1991, and he can get through any on-ball screen with ease.

Not only does Wells (11.9 points) lead all rookies in scoring, but he’s also defending the best opposing guards and wings. He helped hold Steph Curry to just two points on December 19. You can’t sleep on the value of second-round picks in this league, and he (39th) shows you why.

(The Knicks drafted both Tyler Kolek and Pacome Dadiet ahead of Wells. And here they are, in search of a defensive wing…)

San Antonio’s Stephon Castle and Washington’s Alex Sarr are my runner-ups. Kel’el Ware has been making his case recently with the Heat, and Philly’s Jared McCain was the clear choice before his season-ending injury.

I asked Omar, Geoff, and Remi for their MVP picks so far:

Shoutout to Remi for being a true homer — I didn’t even ask them to consider a Knick.

Lately, the MVP award has become an honor for stat-sheet stuffers with sympathized narratives. Derrick Rose beat out LeBron James in 2011 when he carried the Chicago Bulls to a #1 seed (62-20) during Year One of The Heatles. Winning was rewarded.

Steph Curry won 67 games in 2015 and 73 games in 2016. Winning was rewarded, not to mention his historic 50/45/90 season. A player from a top-two seed won MVP from 2000 through 2016. And then what happened? We fell in love with round numbers.

No disrespect to 2017 Russell Westbrook, the greatest one-man show on Earth for seven months. The triple-double average and the infamous departure of Kevin Durant captivated voters’ hearts. Meanwhile, Kawhi Leonard led the Spurs to 61 wins as their only All-Star, and James Harden’s Rockets won eight more games than the Thunder while he averaged 29 points, 11 assists, and “only” 8 rebounds. Eric Gordon’s 16.2 points were apparently too much help.

Fast forward to today, and only one of Nikola Jokić’s three MVPs came with him on a top-two seed. Context matters: the Nuggets were third in 2021, and they lost Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. the next year, when they finished sixth. Even still, it feels like the Kobe Bryant-esque MVP has been overlooked. What do I mean by that?

Aside from Joel Embiid’s pity-me-MVP year in 2023 (when, ironically, Jokić was on the #1 seed), it feels like Steph was the last MVP who didn’t flirt with a triple-double every night. Westbrook, Harden, Giannis, and Jokić have made it tough for those who “just” get buckets. There aren’t many vibes picks anymore. To be valuable enough for this award, you have to put up ridiculous stat lines.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the best player on the 36-8 Thunder, averaging 32-6-5 on 53% shooting. His dominance lies in his scoring consistency as the engine of an offense and his contributions to an all-time defense. It’s difficult to quantify the value of mere presence in that role. The aforementioned players do have that same value, but why is the latest Kia MVP ladder calling this a tight race between him and Jokić, when there’s an eight-win game between their teams?

Shai is clearly the MVP. If we entertain narratives, the Thunder, battling their own health issues, are still ahead of schedule. Their oldest veteran is Alex Caruso (30), but they’re dominating teams night after night, and Shai is right in the center of that. There’s no debate, but I have enjoyed seeing Nikola Jokić put up ridiculous numbers and build chemistry with Russell Westbrook. It all comes full circle.

I’m not quite sure what it means to be a starter this year, considering the new All-Star game format. Regardless, congrats to all—especially the Knicks, the only team with multiple starters.

Steph Curry (22.6 points) likely got homecourt advantage, given that the game(s) will be in San Francisco. But if Dwyane Wade and Kobe Bryant made the All-Star game in their (statistically terrible) final seasons, I don’t mind Steph making it here.

Are you excited to watch the new All-Star tournament? Inside the NBA’s crew will draft three teams, and the winner of the Rising Stars challenge will be the fourth. We will probably see Brunson and KAT on different teams, but I think all the All-Stars will be in harmony on one thing: giving zero effort in these games. I hope they prove me wrong.