{"id":924,"date":"2026-02-24T19:56:11","date_gmt":"2026-02-24T19:56:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/givemesoccer.com\/?p=924"},"modified":"2026-02-24T19:56:11","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T19:56:11","slug":"western-conference-check-in-whos-the-unrivaled-mvp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/givemesoccer.com\/?p=924","title":{"rendered":"Western Conference check-in + who&#8217;s the Unrivaled MVP?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div style=\"left:0;width:100%;height:200px;position:relative;\"><iframe src=\"https:\/\/iframely.publishing.yahoo.net\/ThKhZZ6Z\" style=\"top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;position:absolute;border:0;\" allowfullscreen data-embed-domain=\"player.simplecast.com\" data-provider-name=\"iframe\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2 id=\"jump-link-subscribe-to-the-dunker-spotapple-podcasts--spotify--youtube\"><strong>Subscribe to The Dunker Spot<\/strong><br \/><a target=\"_blank\" class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/the-dunker-spot\/id1547857052\" data-i13n=\"cpos:1;pos:1\"><strong>Apple Podcasts<\/strong><\/a><strong> |<\/strong><a target=\"_blank\" class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/4ci0WrkZSWvKPjBCCMSlJe\" data-i13n=\"cpos:2;pos:1\"><strong> Spotify<\/strong><\/a><strong> |<\/strong><a target=\"_blank\" class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/playlist?list=PLMBGfmxnWp04q9zdjL4NNjGX5FMR66GJV\" data-i13n=\"cpos:3;pos:1\"><strong> YouTube<\/strong><\/a><\/h2>\n<p>We have a fun episode of The Dunker Spot coming your way!<\/p>\n<p>Nekias Duncan and Steve Jones discuss bounce around the Western Conference for a how-good-should-we-feel check-in. The Thunder and Spurs (winners of nine straight!) have separated themselves from the pack; how poised are the Rockets, Nuggets, Lakers, or Timberwolves to make a run? Do they have a fatal flaw in their profile?<\/p>\n<p>From there, the guys recap the recent happenings in Unrivaled &#8212; from Angel Reese&#8217;s return, the Phantom and Laces&#8217; battle for the top seed, and potential dark-horses in this year&#8217;s postseason. Finally, Nekias talks through his top candidates for MVP with Steve, with official ballots due this week.<\/p>\n<p>If you ever have NBA or WNBA questions, email us at dunkerspot@yahoo.com.<\/p>\n<p>1:50 How to decipher post-All-Star break play<br \/>10:42 Houston Rockets<br \/>24:55 Denver Nuggets<br \/>37:16 Los Angeles Lakers<br \/>54:26 Minnesota Timberwolves<br \/>01:02:53 Salute to the Spurs<br \/>01:09:45 Unrivaled thoughts<\/p>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/d29szjachogqwa.cloudfront.net\/images\/user-uploaded\/tds_lakers_thumb_7236.jpg\" data-crop-orig-src=\"https:\/\/d29szjachogqwa.cloudfront.net\/images\/user-uploaded\/tds_lakers_thumb_7236.jpg\" style=\"height:1080px;width:1920px;\" alt=\"NEW YORK, NEW YORK - FEBRUARY 01: (NEW YORK DAILIES OUT) LeBron James #23 and Luka Doncic #77 of the Los Angeles Lakers in action against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on February 01, 2026 in New York City. The Knicks defeated the Lakers 112-110. (Photo by Jim McIsaac\/Getty Images)\" data-uuid=\"0110c1a1-7b14-4e14-8dda-9fc5b61a29dd\"><figcaption>NEW YORK, NEW YORK &#8211; FEBRUARY 01: (NEW YORK DAILIES OUT) LeBron James #23 and Luka Doncic #77 of the Los Angeles Lakers in action against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on February 01, 2026 in New York City. The Knicks defeated the Lakers 112-110. (Photo by Jim McIsaac\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><div class=\"photo-credit\">Jim McIsaac<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p><strong>\ud83d\udda5\ufe0f <em>Watch this <\/em><\/strong><a target=\"_blank\" class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/r7vzm0wR6vU\" data-i13n=\"cpos:4;pos:1\"><strong><em>full episode<\/em><\/strong><\/a><strong><em> on the<\/em><\/strong><a target=\"_blank\" class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@YahooNBA\" data-i13n=\"slk: Yahoo Sports NBA YouTube channel;cpos:5;pos:1\"><strong><em> Yahoo Sports NBA YouTube channel<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Check out all episodes of <\/em><\/strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"\" class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/sports.yahoo.com\/videos\/shows\/dunker-spot\/\" data-i13n=\"slk:The Dunker Spot;cpos:6;pos:1\"><strong><em>The Dunker Spot<\/em><\/strong><\/a><strong><em> and the rest of the Yahoo Sports podcast family at <\/em><\/strong><a target=\"_blank\" class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/apple.co\/3zEuTQj\" data-i13n=\"slk:https:\/\/apple.co\/3zEuTQj;cpos:7;pos:1\"><strong><em>https:\/\/apple.co\/3zEuTQj<\/em><\/strong><\/a><strong><em> or at <\/em><\/strong><a target=\"_blank\" class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/yahoosports.tv\/\" data-i13n=\"slk:yahoosports.tv;cpos:8;pos:1\"><strong><em>yahoosports.tv<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Subscribe to The Dunker SpotApple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube We have a fun episode of The Dunker<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-924","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-napoli-eye-tolu-arokodare-as-striker-hunt-intensifies"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Western Conference check-in + who&#039;s the Unrivaled MVP? - GiveMeSoccer<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/givemesoccer.com\/?p=924\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Western Conference check-in + who&#039;s the Unrivaled MVP? - GiveMeSoccer\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Subscribe to The Dunker SpotApple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube We have a fun episode of The Dunker\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/givemesoccer.com\/?p=924\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"GiveMeSoccer\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-02-24T19:56:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/d29szjachogqwa.cloudfront.net\/images\/user-uploaded\/tds_lakers_thumb_7236.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"David\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"David\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/givemesoccer.com\/?p=924#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/givemesoccer.com\/?p=924\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"David\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/givemesoccer.com\/#\/schema\/person\/3f901e2c578ac225d0041d1165488b9c\"},\"headline\":\"Western Conference check-in + who&#8217;s the Unrivaled MVP?\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-24T19:56:11+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/givemesoccer.com\/?p=924\"},\"wordCount\":253,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/givemesoccer.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/givemesoccer.com\/?p=924#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/d29szjachogqwa.cloudfront.net\/images\/user-uploaded\/tds_lakers_thumb_7236.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Sport updates\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/givemesoccer.com\/?p=924#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/givemesoccer.com\/?p=924\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/givemesoccer.com\/?p=924\",\"name\":\"Western Conference check-in + who's the Unrivaled MVP? - GiveMeSoccer\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/givemesoccer.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/givemesoccer.com\/?p=924#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/givemesoccer.com\/?p=924#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/d29szjachogqwa.cloudfront.net\/images\/user-uploaded\/tds_lakers_thumb_7236.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-24T19:56:11+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/givemesoccer.com\/?p=924#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/givemesoccer.com\/?p=924\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/givemesoccer.com\/?p=924#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/d29szjachogqwa.cloudfront.net\/images\/user-uploaded\/tds_lakers_thumb_7236.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/d29szjachogqwa.cloudfront.net\/images\/user-uploaded\/tds_lakers_thumb_7236.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/givemesoccer.com\/?p=924#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/givemesoccer.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Western Conference check-in + who&#8217;s the Unrivaled MVP?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/givemesoccer.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/givemesoccer.com\/\",\"name\":\"GiveMeSoccer\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/givemesoccer.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/givemesoccer.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/givemesoccer.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"GiveMeSoccer\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/givemesoccer.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/givemesoccer.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/givemesoccer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/cropped-Screenshot_20250706-123139_1-3.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/givemesoccer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/cropped-Screenshot_20250706-123139_1-3.jpg\",\"width\":501,\"height\":360,\"caption\":\"GiveMeSoccer\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/givemesoccer.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/givemesoccer.com\/#\/schema\/person\/3f901e2c578ac225d0041d1165488b9c\",\"name\":\"David\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/givemesoccer.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a347b5d5cb2f10f723679c8e4d5454b03b6ff219c18a42480428a0bc7b4d9cac?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a347b5d5cb2f10f723679c8e4d5454b03b6ff219c18a42480428a0bc7b4d9cac?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"David\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/givemesoccer.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/givemesoccer.com\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Western Conference check-in + who's the Unrivaled MVP? - GiveMeSoccer","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/givemesoccer.com\/?p=924","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Western Conference check-in + who's the Unrivaled MVP? - GiveMeSoccer","og_description":"Subscribe to The Dunker SpotApple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube We have a fun episode of The Dunker","og_url":"https:\/\/givemesoccer.com\/?p=924","og_site_name":"GiveMeSoccer","article_published_time":"2026-02-24T19:56:11+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/d29szjachogqwa.cloudfront.net\/images\/user-uploaded\/tds_lakers_thumb_7236.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"David","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"David","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/givemesoccer.com\/?p=924#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/givemesoccer.com\/?p=924"},"author":{"name":"David","@id":"https:\/\/givemesoccer.com\/#\/schema\/person\/3f901e2c578ac225d0041d1165488b9c"},"headline":"Western Conference check-in + who&#8217;s the Unrivaled MVP?","datePublished":"2026-02-24T19:56:11+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/givemesoccer.com\/?p=924"},"wordCount":253,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/givemesoccer.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/givemesoccer.com\/?p=924#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/d29szjachogqwa.cloudfront.net\/images\/user-uploaded\/tds_lakers_thumb_7236.jpg","articleSection":["Sport updates"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/givemesoccer.com\/?p=924#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/givemesoccer.com\/?p=924","url":"https:\/\/givemesoccer.com\/?p=924","name":"Western Conference check-in + who's the Unrivaled MVP? - GiveMeSoccer","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/givemesoccer.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/givemesoccer.com\/?p=924#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/givemesoccer.com\/?p=924#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/d29szjachogqwa.cloudfront.net\/images\/user-uploaded\/tds_lakers_thumb_7236.jpg","datePublished":"2026-02-24T19:56:11+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/givemesoccer.com\/?p=924#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/givemesoccer.com\/?p=924"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/givemesoccer.com\/?p=924#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/d29szjachogqwa.cloudfront.net\/images\/user-uploaded\/tds_lakers_thumb_7236.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/d29szjachogqwa.cloudfront.net\/images\/user-uploaded\/tds_lakers_thumb_7236.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/givemesoccer.com\/?p=924#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/givemesoccer.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Western Conference check-in + who&#8217;s the Unrivaled MVP?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/givemesoccer.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/givemesoccer.com\/","name":"GiveMeSoccer","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/givemesoccer.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/givemesoccer.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/givemesoccer.com\/#organization","name":"GiveMeSoccer","url":"https:\/\/givemesoccer.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/givemesoccer.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/givemesoccer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/cropped-Screenshot_20250706-123139_1-3.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/givemesoccer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/cropped-Screenshot_20250706-123139_1-3.jpg","width":501,"height":360,"caption":"GiveMeSoccer"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/givemesoccer.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/givemesoccer.com\/#\/schema\/person\/3f901e2c578ac225d0041d1165488b9c","name":"David","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/givemesoccer.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a347b5d5cb2f10f723679c8e4d5454b03b6ff219c18a42480428a0bc7b4d9cac?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a347b5d5cb2f10f723679c8e4d5454b03b6ff219c18a42480428a0bc7b4d9cac?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"David"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/givemesoccer.com"],"url":"https:\/\/givemesoccer.com\/?author=1"}]}},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pdWrFU-eU","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/givemesoccer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/924","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/givemesoccer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/givemesoccer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/givemesoccer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/givemesoccer.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=924"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/givemesoccer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/924\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/givemesoccer.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=924"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/givemesoccer.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=924"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/givemesoccer.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=924"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}