MVP Watch: Where does Cavs’ Donovan Mitchell rank among stars?

MVP Watch: Next five – Devin Booker, Stephen Curry, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Ja Morant, Pascal Siakam

The next group of players are those still within striking distance of winning the award and feature a collection of expected candidates and a couple of surprise members. Devin Booker leads the way as the “just-missed” player, the best on a 7-2 team that has been cruising to start the year. If the Suns end up as the top seed again he will likely continue to be in the MVP conversation.

Stephen Curry and Ja Morant were both among the circle of preseason contenders for the award. Curry is averaging 31 points per game on his normal incendiary shooting splits, plus he is chipping in seven rebounds and 6.8 assists to go with it. Unfortunately, the Warriors are 3-7 as the team falls apart when Curry is off the court. Ja Morant is playing for a Grizzlies team that has been more successful than the Warriors, but his nasty start to the season has mellowed out a bit.

Pascal Siakam is going to miss some time due to an adductor strain, so he will likely join Damian Lillard on the injured list for this MVP ranking. Fully healthy, however, is Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, putting up a wild stat line for the frisky Oklahoma City Thunder: 30.5 points, 4.3 rebounds, 5.9 assists, 2.3(!) steals and 1.1(!!) blocks per game. That block average already would place him around the top-20 all-time in blocks for a guard, but only three other guards have ever averaged two steals and a block per game before: Michael Jordan, Dwyane Wade and Ron Harper.

There is a lot of basketball still to be played, and this list will turn on its heads once or twice before all is said and done. Still, right now Donovan Mitchell has placed himself right near the top and established himself as an offensive powerhouse. Given the supporting cast around him, that means the ceiling on the Cavs has gone from high to atmospheric.