There are a few teams in the league who quite frankly have surpassed all expectations this season and yet none of their players feature heavily in the MVP race.

The Memphis Grizzlies, LA Clippers, Sacramento Kings and the Charlotte Bobcats, maybe less so the Bobcats, have all impressed partly due to the fact they have played well or they have a star who is carrying the team. We are leaving out the Oklahoma City Thunder because they were predicted to have a good year this year, even though they only won 23 games last year.

This is how they finished last year,

Charlotte, 35-47

Memphis, 24-58

LA, 19-63

Sacramento, 17-65

This season?

Charlotte, 20-19

Memphis, 22-18

LA, 18-22

Sacramento, 15-25

While the Kings only have only won 15 games this season many had them pencilled in for the worst record in the league, but as we know the 3-37 New Jersey Jets will, barring a miracle win that accolade. And when Kevin Martin went down with a wrist injury it looked like the Kings would be in major trouble, step up rookie Tyreke Evans.

The point guard out of Memphis is averaging 20.8 points, five rebounds and five assists a game as well as 1.5 steals and has pretty much saved the Kings from being the second worst team in the league, and let’s not mention that he hits game winners to go along with the stats.

Charlotte are being lead by Gerald Wallace who is having a career year grabbing 11.3 rebounds with 18.5 points, and are now in a position to finish with a winning record and challenge for the eighth seed in the east.

The Clippers despite their losing record are just a game away from matching their win total from last year, partly down to good teamwork but largely down to Chris Kaman who is averaging over 20 points a game for the first time in his career, not to mention he grabs 9.4 boards a game next to the rebounding machine that is Marcus Camby.

Memphis are just two games off their win total from last year and at this moment in time can boast about their winning record. The Grizzlies don’t have anyone in particular who stands out with his stats but they do have an amazing young tandem who you could argue are the main reason for the Grizzlies’ rise out of mediocrity.

Rudy Gay may be taking the headlines but OJ Mayo has played like the complete team player, allowing his teammates to take the big shots during games. So why has neither been mentioned for MVP? Surely after all the Most Valuable Player should be judged on what he does for his team. By not being voracious and trying to get his numbers in, Mayo is allowing the Grizzlies to play basketball how it should be played, as a team, and that has translated into the winning record.

Normally MVP races only pick players on teams who have winning records because it is considered that a player on a losing team cannot be that valuable seeing as how the team still continues to lose.

But if, let’s say the Grizzlies, go on to finish the season with a 40-42 record, that would be an 18 game improvement on last season and if that improvement is down to a player like Mayo doesn’t that qualify him for MVP? If it doesn’t then maybe you need to re-think how you view the MVP.

Of course we don’t know what records these teams will finish with but at this moment in time surely players like Mayo, Evans and Wallace are playing like real MVPs.

That said this race is only picks the top eight in the race for reasons which are still unknown and even though Mayo, Evans and Wallace aren’t in it they are still very heavily considered, heck we had Josh Smith in the race during the early weeks.

1- LeBron James, 29.6 PPG, 7.8 assists, 7.2 assists, .359 3pt%, 1.56 steals

On Tuesday night LeBron missed out on a triple double by just one assist. The race is wondering whether there will be a year where King James averages a triple double for the season.

2- Kevin Durant, 29.1 PPG, 3 assists, 7.1 rebounds, .360 3pt%, 1.32 steals

He nearly made it six consecutive games in a row with 30+ points but missed out by just one point. He scored 29 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists to lead the Oklahoma Thunder over the strong Atlanta Hawks. Many thought the Thunder would be better but not this good, welcome to superstardom KD.

3- Kobe Bryant,  28.3 PPG, 4.5 assists, 5.2 rebounds, .316 3pt%, 1.80 steals

In his last five games Kobe has only scored over 20 once and clearly the injuries he has are bothering him. Continue like this Kobe and your run at MVP may be over. It’s time to get healthy.

4- Dirk Nowitzki, 25.5 PPG, 2.6 assists, 8 rebounds, .391 3pt%, 1.20 blocks

Dominated the Celtics by dropping 37 points in the Boston Gardens and has averaged 29.4 points in his last five games. He is one of the best shooters in the game and barring a bad performance against the Raptors he has been money from the charity line.

5- Carmelo Anthony, 30 PPG, 3.3 assists, 6.3 rebounds, .364 3pt%, 1.23 steals

Since his return from injury he has scored 24, 27 and 37, Melo has already found his form and the Nuggets have won those three games. If he keeps scoring like that then the Nuggets will be pretty tough to beat.

6- Steve Nash, 18.7 PPG, 11.1 assists, 3 rebounds, .426 3pt%, .942 FT%

The suns have lost their last four games and in two of those Nash has failed to reach double figures in assists in two of those games. Against the Bobcats he got shut down by the defence and managed just five points and five assists, not what we’ve come to expect.

7- Dwight Howard, 17 PPG, 13.1 rebounds, 1.6 assists, .605 FG%, 2.49 blocks

Howard needs to become a go-to guy but because he lacks offensive moves his team don’t give him the ball enough. He had eight points against Denver in 31 minutes of action and in the next game against Portland managed just 11 points in 32 minutes. He did however have 24 points and 12 rebounds against the Lakers, but the Magic still lost.

8- Dwyane Wade, 27.2 PPG, 6.2 assists, 4.8 rebounds, .292 3pt%, 1.85 steals

After being left out of the race for a few weeks, Wade is back following some high scoring displays. He’s averaging 28.2 points a game in his last five games as well as 6.4 assists. Miami’s increase in form coincides with Wade’s good performances.