MVP RACE

With the season winding down let's take a look at the contenders for the top award in the regular season.

1) Imran Ladak- Primetime
The leader of the last undefeated team, the stacked squad Primetime. He is third in the league in points with 13 a game and tied for first with 4 assists. The numbers alone justify his spot but watching him with the team really solidifies his case. He is a fiery leader who has no problem yelling at his team at any point and there may not be a player more trusted to get you a bucket in the clutch with some of the best one-on-one moves in Retro right now. All this despite being in his forties. He is clearly the best Ladak this season and the current MVP front runner. He does have a big matchup coming up that could decide the award.

2) Muzz Hafeez- Panthers
Some of you may look at the numbers for Muzz, 11 points per game is just outside the top 10 and 4 assists a game is tied for the league and think this may even be a down season for the former MVP and champ. You are probably right and he would most likely agree with you. This however has been a tale of two seasons. Muzz took the Ramadan break to get right, coming out averaging nearly 18 a game with some clutch baskets to keep his team in the running for first place. Next week he squares up with Imran to decide the one seed and could flip the script.

3) Umer Saleem- Bricklayers
The league's leading scorer at almost 19 points a game is playing the same hard nosed game he has his whole retro career. He has the handles and quickness to make defenders miss but what is always the most impressive to me is how tough he plays. He will go at anybody no matter the matchup. He has his team in the middle of the pack due to what his captain Hyder calls “baby back bullshit”. One thing is for sure though, come playoff time you don’t want to see Umer on the other side. He could have been up one more spot if it wasn't for some suspect free throw shooting in the last week or two. He cleans that up and he could be leading Bricklayers to a finals run.

4) Dev- A Team
Death, taxes and Dev being unstoppable on the block are the only certainties in life. In a season he would tell you he is having a down performance he is averaging 15 points and 12 rebounds. The truth is it should be more, if he got the ball commensurate with production that number would easily be twenty points a game. He may disarm you with the friendliness and big smile but do not let that fool you. The longtime Crescent player still has game and has shown that when he wants to he can absolutely bully teams down low. Him and Amrit are a duo that no one will want to deal with. Good luck in the playoffs dealing with the A Team.

5) Ali Anwar- Knights
The silent assassin Ali did a stint in the All Day desert and came back to his home team ready to return to form. The league's second leading scorer is averaging over 15 a game and almost 6 rebounds. The Knights are in the cluster for the top half of the league and amidst attendance issues he and his teammate Mohsin have been stepping up big time. Both are all stars but Ali’s numbers to this point have shown he is back to the near MVP form he was in a couple seasons ago. Him and Amged in the playoffs may be the best backcourt in the league.

Honorable Mention

Moe Gunner- La Familia
I have never seen this guy play basketball but based on the chat he may be Kawhi Leonard so I will put him here just in case.