Denver’s Nikola Jokic finished ninth in the MVP voting last season.
Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid and Golden State’s Stephen Curry didn’t get listed on a single ballot a year ago.
A year later, one of them will walk away with the NBA’s highest individual prize.
Jokic, Embiid and Curry were revealed Thursday night as the three top votegetters for this year’s NBA MVP award, one that will be presented sometime during the playoffs.
Curry is a two-time winner, Jokic’s best previous finish was fourth in 2019 and Embiid’s best MVP showing was seventh in 2019.
Another Nugget was also honored on Thursday, as Michael Porter Jr. was named a finalist as Most Improved Player, along with the Pistons' Jerami Grant and the Knicks' Julius Randle.
Here are the award finalists (listed in alphabetical order):
Kia NBA Most Valuable Player
Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers
Nikola Jokić, Denver Nuggets
NBA Coach of the Year
Quin Snyder, Utah Jazz
Tom Thibodeau, New York Knicks
Monty Williams, Phoenix Suns
Kia NBA Defensive Player of the Year
Rudy Gobert, Utah Jazz
Draymond Green, Golden State Warriors
Ben Simmons, Philadelphia 76ers
Kia NBA Most Improved Player
Jerami Grant, Detroit Pistons
Michael Porter Jr., Denver Nuggets
Julius Randle, New York Knicks
Kia NBA Rookie of the Year
LaMelo Ball, Charlotte Hornets
Anthony Edwards, Minnesota Timberwolves
Tyrese Haliburton, Sacramento Kings
Kia NBA Sixth Man
Jordan Clarkson, Utah Jazz
Joe Ingles, Utah Jazz
Derrick Rose, New York Knicks
TNT will announce the winner of each award during its coverage of the 2021 NBA Playoffs. Each voter’s complete ballot for each award will be posted at pr.nba.com after the announcement of all end-of-season awards.
