Paris Olympics Basketball MVP: Who Will Shine Brightest?

After the qualifying rounds and group stages, only eight teams are left fighting for the 2024 Paris Olympics basketball gold medal. The United States is still the favorite but Germany, Greece, France, Canada, Serbia, Australia and Brazil all have international stars that could surprise everyone.

Canada, Germany and the USA are the only undefeated teams left and all of them have talented players that could win the MVP award. Serbia’s Nikola Jokic, a three-time NBA MVP, can take over any game while Australia’s new star Josh Giddey has been amazing in the group stages. Then there’s Greece’s Giannis Antetokounmpo, a two-time NBA MVP and an NBA champ.

As we start the quarterfinal stage, let’s look at the top five potential candidates for the MVP award.

Giannis Antetokounmpo, Greece

Giannis is still a long shot because his team hasn’t done that well at the Olympic basketball event. But he’s been amazing as a player.

Giannis is first in points with an average of 27 points per game. He also has the best field goal percentage (68.9) among all playars who are scoring at least 10 points. He’s eighth in rebounds (7.7) and 17th in assists (3.7) per game.

If Greece can beat Germany, they will avoid the United States and Serbia in the semifinal round. That could help Giannis get to the finals if he keeps playing great.

Nikola Jokic, Serbia

You could say Nikola Jokic should be higher on this list but the 6’11 center has not played as well as when he won the NBA MVP in 2024. Jokic’s numbers were good in his first game against the United States where he finished with 20 points, five rebounds and eight assists. Serbia’s 107-66 win over Puerto Rico was impressive but the center only scored 14 points. He did get 15 rebounds and nine assists in that game, almost a triple-double.

Jokic had another good gama versus South Sudan where he scored 22 points, got 13 rebounds and four assists in just 27 minutes.

Kevin Durant, USA

Kevin Durant dribbles against South Sudan at the Olympics basketball event at Stade event even though he missed all the USA’s warmup games. The sharpshooting forward scored 23 points and made all his first eight shots in the first game versus Serbia.

Kerr hasn’t played Durant much since his good game versus Serbia but expect the Phoenix Suns to play a lot as the tournament goes on.

Durant won the FIBA MVP at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. He’s the all-time leading scorer for Team USA at the tournement and wants to win his fourth gold medal. It would be amazing if he could win a second MVP award at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Also Read: Top 5 Most Unlucky NBA Players Who Never Won a Championship 

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Canada

Team Canada has a lot of talent but Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is clearly Canada’s best player at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 19 points, four rebounds, four assists, 1.7 steals per game and is shooting nearly 59 percent from the field.

In a tough first game against Greece, the guard stayed calm and helped his team win. He finished with 20 points, three rebounds, two assists and a steal to win 86-79.

Canada has been great in the group stages and if Shai Gilgeous-Alexander keeps playing like this, they have a good chance to win the gold medal.

LeBron James, USA

LeBron James has been consestent and good for his country. He’s also shown some amazing plays in the tournament, especially in the first game versus Serbia where he scored 21 points and had nine assists on 9-13 shooting.

Like Durant, Kerr hasn’t played James a lot in the last two games, but we can expect to see more of the LA Lakers superstar in the knockout stage.

At 39 years old, this is probably James’ last Olympic basketball tournament. James wants to finish strong and win an Olympics MVP to add to his list of trophies.