PHOENIX — Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker may be a 3-time Western Conference Player of the Week winner this season, but he's not among the top 5 candidates for NBA MVP, according to a new straw poll from ESPN.
The poll shows the race coming down to just three players, Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (the reigning league MVP), Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid and Milwaukee Bucks power forward Giannis Antetokounmpo.
That trio took every single first-place vote in the poll. Only two other players (Booker and Memphis Grizzlies point guard Ja Morant) got second-place votes. They each got one vote. Booker (3), Morant (2) and Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (2), were the only players outside of the top trio to get third-place votes.
Booker ended up placing 7th in the poll, as he also got 14 fourth-place votes and 18 fifth-place votes.
This comes after a week in which Booker led the Suns to 3 wins, two of which were over Jokic's Nuggets and Embiid's 76ers, and averaged 37.3 points per game, 6.3 assists per game, and shot 58.1% from the field, earning his third Western Conference Player of Week honor.
Booker not being considered a serious contender for NBA MVP has brought out a strong reaction from other players in the league, including Morant and Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving.
Now, even Booker's head coach, Monty Williams, is speaking out, saying he does not understand why Book is not one of the top contenders for MVP.
"Again, I shake my head at the criteria," Williams said. "I think what's happened is we can't say that winning is part of the equation. When you've won as many games as we have and then you have a guy playing at the level that he's played at all year long, that'd be in that conversation every night."
But, even if Booker doesn't catch up to Jokic, Embiid, and Antetokounmpo in the MVP race, Williams isn't worried.
"I scratch my head at the way they decide the All-Star Game and all that stuff," Willaims said. "He seems to be the guy that's been consistently left off. But, I don't think it bothers Book. I think it drives him more than it bothers him, which probably is the same thing. But from my perspective, I don't have a great answer."
Williams added that he has noticed the love Booker has been getting around the league and suggested that there need to be consistent criteria when it comes to deciding league MVP.
"I have no idea the metrics that they look at consistently and if everybody's looking at the same metrics. It doesn't seem that way." Williams said. "He gets the respect from his team and he gets respect from the players around the league. I hear it from guys around the league and when I do catch a tweet on HoopsHype, it's always someone talking about Book being in that conversation and being one of the best players in the league."
So far, in 64 games this season, Booker is averaging 26.5 points, 4.9 assists, and 5 rebounds per game. He is shooting 46.5% from the floor, 37.8% from behind the 3-point line, and 86.7% from the free throw line.
For comparison, here are the same stats for Jokic, Embiid, and Antetokounmpo.
In 69 games, Jokic is averaging 26.3 points, 8 assists, and 13.6 rebounds per game. He is shooing 57.6% from the floor, 34.5% from behind the 3-point line, and 81.1% from the free throw line.
In 61 games, Embiid is averaging 29.9 points, 4.2 assists, and 11.4 rebounds per game. He is shooing 48.9% from the floor, 35.8% from behind the 3-point line, and 81.8% from the free throw line.
In 61 games, Antetokounmpo is averaging 29.7 points, 5.8 assists, and 11.6 rebounds per game. He is shooting 55% from the floor, 30% from behind the 3-point line, and 72.2% from the free throw line.
However, Booker isn't the only Sun up for an award this season.
Williams is once again in the race for Coach of the Year, after leading the Suns to the best record in the Association, their 2nd-straight Pacific Division title and the #1 seed in the Western Conference playoffs.
Many of Williams' players have openly pulled for him to win the award, including center Deandre Ayton, who said he would go to Mars if Williams didn't win.
Williams says he has heard the comments but isn't thinking much about the actual award.
"I'm appreciative of how they feel about not just me but our staff," Williams said. "That particular award is probably the best example of team and organization. You don't have to be that smart to realize that I'm not doing all this on my own, you know what I mean? It takes a lot of people to do what we've done this year and it's going to take a lot of people to continue to do it. And nobody's more important than the players. And so when I hear that stuff, I feel really good about it but they know that they're the engine that makes this thing go and I'm grateful to be a part of it."
Last year, Williams lost Coach of the Year to Tom Thibodeau from the New York Knicks by just 11 points, despite leading the Suns to a better record and a higher playoff seed.
The Suns have 7 games left in their regular season. Next, they're on the road taking on Golden State. That game tips off on Wednesday at 7 pm.
The Suns wrap up their regular season on April 10th at home against the Sacramento Kings.