Lillard Lands at No. 7 in Updated MVP Ladder

Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard has seven games left at his disposal to put the finishing touches on his impressive 2020-21 campaign. With that in mind, it appears that Lillard has lost a step in the chase for the NBA’s MVP award.

In the latest rankings from HoopsHype, Lillard remained outside of the top five and landed at the No. 7 spot. HoopsHype contributor Frank Urbina pointed to the up-and-down output that the former Weber State standout has endured in the final portion of the season.

After a very poor stretch of games for Damian Lillard, especially by his illustrious standards, the six-time All-Star has started to heat up again recently, putting up 30.3 points and 10.0 assists on pristine 52.5/51.5/92.3 percent shooting splits in his last three games.

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Despite the dip in production and all the drama surrounding Portland, Lillard still has the fifth-best MVP chances, according to the latest gambling odds.

Through 60 outings this season, Lillard is averaging 28.4 points and 7.6 assists per game.

Outside of Lillard, Nuggets center Nikola Jokic maintained his grip on the No. 1 spot inside HoopsHype’s rankings. Knicks forward Julius Randle also made an appearance in the rankings just behind Lillard at the No. 9 spot.

You can read the full list of MVP hopefuls at HoopsHype.