NBA MVP race has been Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's to lose, but what are the odds for Wemby?

The race for NBA Most Valuable Player is down to the final 10 or so games of the season. And it’s all but certain that the winner of the award will once again be an internationally-born player, which would mark eight consecutive seasons. The league's 65-game eligibility rule for postseason awards came into focus once more after Detroit Pistons star Cade Cunningham’s collapsed lung injury forced him to miss extended time.

The National Basketball Players Association came out in defense of Cunningham and blasted the rule as a mechanism that was keeping elite players from consideration of these individual honors, which can have real impacts on future earnings; supermax deals are often tied to performance triggers. Either way, here's the latest iteration of the USA TODAY Sports NBA MVP rankings: More: Thunder tested by Celtics in potential NBA Finals preview, but SGA & OKC 'didn't pass it' 5. Jaylen Brown, Boston Celtics Even though Jayson Tatum made his return, his production is nowhere near previous levels as the Celtics continue to ease him back.

That has maintained the pressure on Brown to carry Boston, and he has done just that. His 31 points in a 10-point victory March 25 over the defending-champion Thunder are a perfect indicator of the impact Brown has on his team. Over his last five, he’s averaging 32.

6 points per game. 4. Nikola Jokić, Denver Nuggets Still averaging a triple-double (27.