Ranking Washington Wizards’ Hachimura among tonight’s MVP candidates

3. Zion Williamson

For many, Zion Williamson is the clear-cut favorite, but I’m just not buying it. He’s first in points and rebounds among rookies, and he’s helped his New Orleans Pelicans climb to just 5.5 games out of the playoffs, but I just think he’s too humble of a guy to want to show out to the max in this game.

Zion is going to be the future face of the NBA for the foreseeable future, that much is clear, but he’s still recovering from knee surgery, and has recently been dealing with some nagging injuries in a sprained ankle and toe. The fact the dude can drop over 22 per game without his full faculties is… impressive… to say the very least.

But there’s not much motivation for him to go out and go hard to win the MVP honors in the Rising Stars challenge. He’s better served taking the easy buckets and letting his teammate’s shine while flashing that brilliant smile that kind of makes all our hearts flutter (happy Valentine’s day, by the way).

Still, a few flashy dunks, a flashy pass or two, and Zion is immediately in the conversation. Wouldn’t it be wild if he came out bangin’ three’s left and right too? He’s shooting 36.4 percent from range and that would allay the injury concerns as he wouldn’t have to take contact.