Since the NBA season has wrapped up, it is time to go through and choose each NBA team’s “MVP” of this season as it relates to fantasy basketball. I will not just choose the player who scored the most fantasy points but take into account where this player was being drafted and the overall consistency they brought to the table. This article will discuss the Northwest Division (Oklahoma City Thunder, Minnesota Timberwolves, Portland Trail Blazers, Utah Jazz, and Denver Nuggets). The Northwest Division has had its highs and lows all season long. From OKC’s dominance to Utah finishing dead last in the overall standings, this division was extremely fun to follow all season. With that being said, let’s get into it.
2024-25 Fantasy MVPs: Northwest Division
Oklahoma City Thunder, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
With OKC having such a deep roster, you would think that many players would be up for this award. This would be the case if Shai Gilgeous-Alexander wasn’t having one of the best guard seasons in NBA history. Shai finished the season averaging 32.7 points, 6.4 assists, and 5.0 rebounds, while also averaging 1.7 steals per game this season. Add the 51.9/37.5/89.8 shooting splits, and SGA had one of the most efficient guard seasons of all time. OKC had multiple great fantasy players like Jalen Williams, Isaiah Hartenstein, Aaron Wiggins, and Lu Dort. But you can’t compete with the odds on MVP favorite and the guy who finished second in total fantasy points.
Denver Nuggets, Nikola Jokic
Was this a surprise to anyone? Nikola Jokic might have just had the best offensive season of all time. The Joker averaged 29.6 points, 10.2 assists, and 12.7 rebounds per game this season. When you average a triple-double, you are going to be your team’s MVP of the season. Jokic delivered some iconic and week-winning games for your fantasy teams this season, including stat lines of 61-10-10 against Minnesota, 31-22-21 against Phoenix, and 56-8-16 against Washington. The Joker single-handedly gave fantasy owners a chance to win their leagues, which is why he is the Denver Nuggets fantasy MVP this season.
Minnesota Timberwolves, Anthony Edwards
Again, this was a pretty easy choice for the Timberwolves. Anthony Edwards took a massive leap this season, most notably in his three-point shooting, as he shot a career-high 39.5% from three. Edwards led the NBA in made threes while averaging 27.6 points, 4.5 assists, and 5.7 rebounds per game. Edwards led the Timberwolves by a wide margin in fantasy points this season, landing him the team’s Fantasy MVP. But, I don’t want to forget Jaden McDaniels and the offensive leaps that he took for the team this season as well.
Portland Trail Blazers, Deni Avdija
The Blazers were one of the bigger surprises of this NBA season, as they were projected 22.5 wins and finished with 36. This was due to leaps taken by Shaedon Sharpe and Anfernee Simons, the emergence of Toumani Camara, and their best offseason addition, Deni Avdija. Although Simons led the Blazers in scoring, Avdija was not far behind and was more efficient from the field. Deni averaged 16.9 points, 3.9 assists, and 7.3 rebounds per game this season. The real deciding factor was how Deni played in the latter half of the season. From the All-Star break to the end of the season, Deni averaged 23.3 points, 5.2 assists, and 9.7 rebounds per game. He had seven 30-point games to go along with 10 double-doubles during this stretch. This was the deciding factor on why Deni was the Blazers’ fantasy MVP this year. More on Deni’s leap this season: The Deni Avdija All-Star Leap Is Real For The Trail Blazers
Utah Jazz, Keyonte George
The Jazz faced a lot of difficulties this season. There were a lot of injuries for Utah, including their two highest scorers Lauri Markkanen and John Collins. Since both of these guys missed 35+ games, someone had to take on the scoring role, and Keyonte George stepped up. George averaged 16.8 points, 5.6 assists, and 3.8 rebounds per game this season. Although George did not lead the Jazz in fantasy points, the consistency and games played favored him over Walker Kessler who was also highly considered. Rookies Isaiah Collier and Kyle Filipowski also had a strong end to the season but did not do enough to win the team’s Fantasy MVP over Keyonte George.
Northwest Division Wrap-Up
The Northwest Division produced some of the best fantasy players for this NBA season. SGA and Jokic led the way as the top two fantasy scorers for the season. Edwards held his own by being the seventh-highest-scoring fantasy player this season as well. George and Avdija gave us some highlights throughout the season as well. Some other notable fantasy players from this division included Jalen Williams, Isaiah Hartenstein, Rudy Gobert, Jaden McDaniels, Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr., Christian Braun, Walker Kessler, Toumani Camara, and Shaedon Sharpe.
Photo credit: © Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images
The post 2024-25 Fantasy MVPs: Northwest Division appeared first on Last Word On Basketball.