T he Denver Nuggets might have outlasted the Los Angeles Clippers in an intense seven-game series to move on to the next round of the postseason, but their path to keep advancing

At some point furing the NBA postseason, the league will announce who took home the MVP award and the Michael Jordan Trophy. The three finalists are Giannis Antetokounmpo, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Nikola Jokic, although Antetokounmpo is all but a gurantee to finish in third place.

There's also the Russell Westbrook factor. For the first time since being traded in 2019, the 36-year-old will play at OKC in front of a playoff crowd on Monday for Game 1. He was robbed of that opportunity with the Houston Rockets in 2020 due to The Bubble.