If you want to say who is the first person in the NBA's current combat power, different fans may have different opinions, at least the league's old-school super traffic stars are unlikely to win this honor. James' state this season is not stable, and his ability to lead the team is quite limited, Curry has suffered a Waterloo, his key ball ability has declined seriously, and the Warriors have also fallen to the altar, and the dynasty is no more. Durant's performance is quite good, this season, Durant's three-point shooting rate actually reached 47.7%, ranking first in the league, however, Durant also has a fatal flaw, his injury risk is relatively large, this season is also stop-and-go, and the Suns led by Durant, the winning rate is just about 5 percent, ranking in the middle of the West.
Judging from the MVP winners of the past few seasons, the number one active player has to be selected from the three of Antetokounmpo, Embiid and Jokic. Brother Alphabet has been really dominant in recent years, with exaggerated physical talent and athleticism, but as a leading star, Brother Alphabet also has a big weakness, that is, he has no projection ability and can't play key balls. Last season, the Bucks were eliminated in the playoffs by the Heat's Black Eight, which also reduced a lot of impression points. If you can't practice one-handed projection (three-point shooting is really not good, and stable mid-range is also fine), then it is estimated that it will be difficult for Brother Alphabet to become the first person in the league to be the active combat power of the league.
Embiid, on the other hand, has performed quite exaggerated in the regular season in the past two years, and this season he can average 34.8 points, 11.8 rebounds, 6.2 assists, 1.2 steals and 2.0 blocks per game, and has scored 50+ points in a single game many times, which can be called the data emperor of today's league. Just looking at the data, if Embiid continues this hot state, this season's scoring champion + MVP will not have to run. However, many fans don't quite recognize Embiid's scoring methods, first, he picks soft persimmons and pinchs, and attendance cannot be guaranteed. The second is that he likes to "touch porcelain" to make fouls, stand on the free throw line to score, and Embiid can make an average of 11.6 free throws per game this season. In addition, Embiid has another criticism, that is, he has never proven himself in the playoffs, and the other two have a championship with Mr. and Brother Alphabet.
How to look at it, the title of the first person in active combat power is still the most suitable for Jokic. To be honest, after Mr. Yoo led the Nuggets to win the championship last season, the offensive desire this season is not so strong, a bit of a stroke, he is not a player who values personal fame and honor. Despite this, Jokic is still averaging a big quasi-triple-double of 26.0 points, 12.2 rebounds and 9.1 assists per game this season, ranking third in the league in rebounds per game and fourth in assists per game. This season, Jokic is also very good at controlling his shots, and if he is not sure, he will definitely not shoot, and in the past four games, Jokic has played a terrifying offensive efficiency. In four consecutive games, Jokic scored 26 points, 19 points, 13 points and 34 points respectively, and the scores were very average.
But in these four consecutive games, Jokic shot 11-of-11, 9-of-10, 6-of-7 and 13-of-16, which is a bit exaggerated, with a total of 44 shots of 39 in the four games, and the shooting rate was as high as 88.6%. He became the first player in NBA history to shoot 88.6 percent from the field while taking more than 40 shots in four games in the last 50 years. 13 out of 16!11 out of 11!The first person in history!That's why he got a top salary of 270 million dollars for 5 years. It makes sense that Jokic is a star with a very high ceiling for the team, he doesn't covet fame and fortune, thinks about the team, doesn't care about his personal data, and ensures his offensive quality, as long as he can win. In the summer of '22, the Nuggets decisively offered Jokic a five-year, $270 million contract, setting a record for the largest contract in NBA history at that time.
The effect of the big contract can be described as immediate, that season, Mr. Yoo immediately led the Nuggets to win a championship, which is also the first championship trophy in the history of the Nuggets, and this season, the Nuggets still have such a chance to win the championship, they are currently ranked 3rd in the West with a record of 25 wins and 11 losses. Compared to last season, the Nuggets have two less key rotation players, Bruce Brown and Jeff Green, but their roster depth is still very thick, and the players are all tall and big, and they generally have an advantage in the position. Jamal Murray, the second leader of the Nuggets, is also a tough, All-Star level player, and he can also play tough battles without picking soft persimmons. What do you think is the probability that the Nuggets will defend their title this season?